Jim Jordan opens investigation into accusations IRS is using AI to spy on taxpayers 'en masse'

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FIRST ON FOX: House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is launching an investigation alongside Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., into whether the IRS is using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improperly surveil American taxpayers across the country.

In a pair of letters sent to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland, the lawmakers point to a September 2023 press release in which the IRS said AI "will help IRS compliance teams better detect tax cheating, identify emerging compliance threats and improve case selection tools to avoid burdening taxpayers with needless ‘no-change’ audits."

"However, recent reporting alleges that the IRS’s use of AI has also included actively monitoring American citizens’ bank accounts en masse and without legal process," they wrote, citing a report by James O’Keefe's O’Keefe Media Group.

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"Video footage obtained by an investigative media outlet appears to capture Alex Mena, an IRS official working in the agency’s Criminal Investigations Unit, admitting that the IRS has ‘a new system’ that uses AI to target ‘potential abusers’ by examining all returns, bank statements, and related financial information for ‘potential for fraud.’ Mena