American tax officials

Chapter 284 Everyone's eyeing our tax revenue.

"Yeah!"

David smirked slightly and replied, "Let's see if you can even get out of here alive!"

"You bastard, we're about to receive a presidential pardon. You're finished once we get out!"

Perhaps blinded by anger or David's ridicule, Mariano, in an attempt to vent his frustration, blurted out the secret, the matter that was still in the midst of a conspiracy.

David's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this.

According to the U.S. Constitution, the president does indeed have the power to pardon any criminal who has broken the law within the United States.

This also includes prisoners detained by their IRS.

In other words, if the president really issues this executive order, then both he and the IRS are legally obligated to comply.

After all, the president is the highest executive officer in the United States.

No matter how powerful the IRS is, from a constitutional perspective, it cannot refuse a presidential executive order.

"So that's how it is..."

David suddenly realized why the Sackler family members acted like they had nothing to lose, even after they were in court and in prison.

At the time, he was still wondering what gave them the courage.

Now it seems that they probably received a signal from someone that they would receive a presidential pardon, which is why they were so fearless even after they were in prison!

"hehe."

David sneered again: "Presidential pardon? Are you sure his order will even come down?"

The purpose of my visit today.

Actually, I just wanted to teach those three a lesson for their previous arrogance and vent my anger.

Now that his goal had been achieved, David felt it was time to leave. Without wasting any more words with them, he stood up and departed.

After David left the meeting room, Arthur grabbed Christian by the collar and yelled, "You're such an idiot! How could you tell anyone about this now!"

As David said before, a presidential pardon can get them out, but it still requires an order.

David now knows about this conspiracy. If David really tries to intervene, who can guarantee that the presidential pardon will be issued?

If it really can't be issued.

Not only did they lose all their assets, but they also ended up in jail for life. It was an absolute rip-off!

Mariano realized he had spoken out of turn and was filled with regret. However, the words were already out, and there was no use in regretting it. He could only silently accept the bitter consequences.

On the way back to the IRS office in Los Angeles, Nison, who was driving, couldn't help but remark, "Do you think the president is really going to order a pardon for them?"

"The fact that the Sackler family could get involved with Governor Bogwana shows that his network of relationships is quite complicated. If his cronies really go to the White House and whisper in his ear, then it's hard to say what might happen."

"That's right, this is a bit tricky. If these guys really get pardoned by the president, then we've been slapped in the face."

Bucky Simmons, who came along with them, also spoke up.

David remained silent, gazing thoughtfully out the window.

Currently, EW is at war, and the White House has long expressed its support for W. However, supporting W requires a lot of money, which is why the White House has repeatedly commended him.

This shows that the White House needs him now, because currently, he is clearly the only one in the entire United States who can raise such a large sum of money to support W.

In other words, the White House probably wouldn't dare to offend him easily.

However, just in case anything goes wrong, David felt he needed to discuss the matter with the higher-ups, so he took out his phone.

At the same time, in Washington, D.C., at the IRS headquarters.

Obadiah, Donald, and many high-ranking officials in the IRS were still reveling in the transfer of the Sackler family's assets and the huge stagnation fees that UBS Group would have to pay.

Just then, Donald felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He immediately took it out, and seeing that the caller ID showed David's number, he answered immediately, saying, "Speak, David."

"Regarding the Sackler family's assets, as the Swiss bank stated, they have indeed been transferred back to an American account, totaling $178.3 billion, and have now all been frozen by us."

David's report over the phone brought even more joy to the senior executives present.

178 billion, plus the 82 billion stagnation fee from the Swiss bank, that's 260 billion.

This is another huge tax payment received by the IRS, following the tax audit in Hollywood.

"Excellent, very powerful! It seems we'll be adding another significant achievement to David's record!"

After his initial elation subsided, Donald spoke more calmly.

"By the way, Deputy Director Donald, I received some information from the Sackler family, and I'd like to ask if you are aware of it."

"What news?"

"According to him, it seems someone is helping them lobby for a presidential pardon?"

"What? Is that true?"

Donald and the IRS staff present were somewhat surprised by these words.

They had never heard of this, nor had they received any news about it whatsoever!

However, it's clear that the White House is now relying on the IRS, and granting amnesty to prisoners arrested and detained by the IRS is no different from slapping them in the face.

The White House wouldn't be foolish enough to do that, would it?

"They said it themselves, and even after they were sentenced and imprisoned, they still acted with impunity. I don't think it's just talk."

Hearing David's words, Donald paused slightly before replying, "Okay, don't worry about this. Leave it to us. You can continue with your work."

"Understood!"

After ending the call, Donald looked at the group of executives and asked, "You all heard that, right? What are your thoughts on this matter?"

"I believe that unless the White House has lost its mind, it would absolutely not dare to go against our IRS at this time."

"The White House wouldn't dare to go against our IRS, but since the Sackler family has managed to get in touch with Bogwana, and given Bogwana's influence, if he could persuade the Freemasons to work on this... then it would be hard to guarantee that the White House wouldn't waver."

"That's right. The Sackler family is nothing to worry about, and the White House wouldn't go against us for their sake. The real concern is that the Freemasons might get involved and cause trouble..."

"The Swiss bank incident has clearly displeased the Freemasons, because they have far too much money there. If they really want to retaliate against us, it's logically possible for them to orchestrate a pardon for the Sackler family..."

"..."

The opinions of the high-ranking officials present were basically unanimous: if the Freemasons really got involved in this matter, it was hard to say whether the White House would issue the order.

At this point, even Donald and Obadiah could no longer remain silent.

This incident involving the Swiss bank certainly had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that their tax authorities made a fortune, but the disadvantage was that it had already incurred the displeasure of the Freemasons.

As one of their colleagues just said, it's plausible that this group wanted to orchestrate a pardon for the Sackler family as retaliation or a warning to their IRS.

Thinking of this, Obadiah could no longer sit still. He stood up and said, "Deputy Director Donald, come with me to the White House."

He wanted to sound out the White House's stance, or rather, to give them a warning so they wouldn't do anything detrimental to the IRS.

White House.

The president's chief of staff, Wilder, was working in his office when there was a knock on the door. His assistant entered and said, "Mr. Wilder, the IRS Commissioner Obadiah and Deputy Commissioner Donald are here and want to see you."

"Let them come over."

A few minutes later, Obadiah Donald and his companion walked in.

Upon seeing the two men enter, Wilder beamed with joy, as if seeing his own father, and said, "Director Obadiah, Deputy Director Donald, the President is very pleased with this matter concerning the Swiss bank and is planning to take some time in the next couple of days to discuss it with you."

The White House's primary task now is to push through the aid bill, while Swiss banks have announced they will pay $82 billion in stagnation fees.

This sum, combined with the Sackler family's assets and the huge amount of tax revenue obtained from the previous Hollywood tax audit, will greatly increase the chances of the Aid Act passing.

"Is that so? Then I'll be waiting for you. But the main reason I'm here today is to find out something."

Obadiah's words puzzled Wilder, who immediately asked, "What is it?"

"I've heard that some people behind the Sackler family are planning to work on getting them a presidential pardon. I wonder if the White House has heard anything about this?"

"A pardon?"

Wilder paused for a moment, then immediately shook his head and said, "Director Obadiah, I can tell you with certainty that we at the White House have not received any information about this. Even if we had, we would not be considering a pardon."

Wilder's ability to rise to the position of White House Chief of Staff speaks volumes about his intelligence.

He knew very well that if the White House actually ordered a pardon for the Sackler family, it would be tantamount to slapping the IRS in the face.

At this stage, they urgently need the IRS to raise funds for their bills, and they absolutely cannot afford to offend the IRS.

"That's good, Mr. Wilder. But I must remind you first that the White House hasn't received any information yet, but it may soon. And as far as we know, this group is not simple. We hope the White House will not waver, otherwise, it will damage the prestige of our IRS."

Donald's words, though seemingly just a reminder, actually carried a hint of warning.

Wilder naturally understood as well, and at this moment he frowned, because he realized that the matter of the amnesty was probably not just about the Sackler family, but also involved some deeper power struggles, such as the Freemasons!

Yes, if the Sackler family wants to manipulate the presidential pardon, the White House can naturally ignore it. But if it involves the Freemasons, then the White House seems to be in a bit of a predicament.

After all, this group wields enormous influence, and the White House has to be wary of them.

"Don't worry, you two. The IRS is loyal to the country, and we certainly won't let you down."

Wilder decided to put everything else aside for now and focus on calming down the IRS first.

"That's good."

"Oh, by the way, I already know that the Swiss bank has to pay a stagnant fee of 8.24 billion, but what about the amount of assets transferred back to the Sackler family?"

Wilder changed the subject and asked.

"According to David, the total is around 178 billion."

"178 million!"

Upon hearing this number, Wilder's eyes immediately lit up, and he then said, "Very good. When you get back, please pass on a message to your Director David, saying that the White House thanks him for his contribution."

"Okay, Mr. Wilder, if there's nothing else, we'll head back to take care of our work."

The two men came here to warn the White House against pursuing the pardon of the Sackler family. Now that they had achieved their goal, there was no need for them to stay any longer.

"Wait a minute, you two..."

Hearing the call to stop, Obadiah Donald turned around in unison, looking all ears.

"With your tax investigation of Hollywood, plus this latest round of funds from the Sackler family and Swiss banks, you should have over 500 billion in your tax coffers by now, right?"

Obadiah and Donald exchanged a meaningful glance, then the former said, "More or less, what's wrong, Mr. Wilder?"

Have you heard of the Aid to W Act?

"I've heard some things about it. Does that mean this bill is about to be approved?"

"Yes, I can tell you now that the initial funding for this bill is set at $1000 billion, so... we hope your IRS can raise this money as soon as possible. If this bill passes, the White House will be very grateful to you."

Obadiah looked slightly embarrassed and said, "Let me put it this way, Mr. Wilder. The whole world knows that our IRS has a huge sum of money, and this sum of money has not been budgeted at all. So, to be honest, the Department of Education, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Justice, and even the FBI and CIA have come to us, wanting to get more funding. If we give it all to the Aid Act, it will probably cause dissatisfaction among various departments."

Wilder frowned slightly, then said, "Here's what we'll do. I'll set aside some time in the next few days to meet with the various departments. It won't affect the relationship between your IRS and the other departments."

"All right."

The IRS naturally doesn't want to be the stingy villain, but if the White House snatches that role, they wouldn't mind using the funds for the aid bill.

(End of this chapter)