Why Has the ProPublica Investigation Yet To See the Light of Day?

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Real Clear Politics

It’s been a year since ProPublica published the first pieces in a series dubbed “The Secret IRS Files: Inside the Tax Records of the .001%.” The editors revealed that an anonymous source sent them a “trove” of raw data containing information on thousands of taxpayers. It was so massive, it took ten staff members months of analysis ahead of publication to make something of it.

A year later, we know exactly as much now about the means, motive, and identity of the data thief as we did then: nothing.

Three entities have authority to conduct investigations in this matter: the Treasury Department in the form of the Office of the Inspector General, the FBI, and the Department of Justice.

We have no information on the inner workings of such probes – or even if they are really taking place. We don’t know if there are several, or one that’s coordinated, or which agency is taking the lead, though common sense suggests it’s the special office in charge of IRS investigations, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. We lack any estimates for a timeline of results, let alone a status report, despite ongoing letters and questions during hearings by House and Senate Republicans.