American tax officials

Chapter 330 On the Eve of Taking Office

Three days later, the case concerning News Corp. was heard as scheduled in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

In a final push, Murdoch spent a fortune hiring a top-tier American legal team of 16 people.

No matter how elite the legal team was, it was all in vain in the face of Gavin's documents, witnesses, and the recruitment of tainted witnesses from News Corporation.

In the first instance, News Corporation was found guilty of multiple charges, including wiretapping, insider trading, bribery, and manipulating public opinion. The individuals involved were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to eight years.

Upon hearing the verdict, the legal team seemed to have received some prior instructions and ultimately tacitly accepted the result, deciding not to appeal.

News Corporation headquarters.

Upon seeing the result, Murdoch felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He seemed to age several years in an instant.

In the days following the FBI's announcement of the formal arrest and indictment of their top officials, he endured unimaginable pressure.

Some extremists even dug up his home address, came to his door and threw eggs and rotten vegetables at him, and hurled insults at him day and night. In addition, these people also dug up his family members and relatives, and subjected them to all kinds of insults, attacks and discrimination, which made him and his family suffer unspeakably.

Therefore, after hiring this legal team, he personally communicated with them and decided that if the evidence presented by the prosecution in court could not overturn the case, then they should not appeal.

Because appeals take time, and given the current trend, the longer it drags on, the more he and his family will suffer. Only by pleading guilty quickly can this storm be quelled.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Murdoch picked up the landline phone on the table, called his secretary in, and gave her detailed instructions.

Shortly after, Murdoch walked out of the News Corporation building, but instead of getting into his car immediately, he turned and looked back at the News Corporation building, his eyes filled with sadness, reluctance, and helplessness...

Because he knew that from now on, this group and this place would no longer belong to him, and all the hard work he had put into it would ultimately benefit someone else.

At this moment, he felt a little regretful. If he hadn't been blinded by greed and stood up to target David, he probably wouldn't have ended up like this.

But it was too late to say anything at that moment. In the end, he could only put away his lingering gaze, get into the car, and leave.

Half an hour later, News Corp. issued a statement.

As for the content of the announcement, it was an apology statement from Murdoch to the nation, in which he claimed that he had failed to manage the group and his subordinates, which led to multiple charges including wiretapping and corruption.

To demonstrate his commitment, he decided to resign from all positions at News Corporation and also announced the dissolution of the board of directors. The new board will be restructured at a shareholders' meeting.

With this, the era of Rupert Murdoch at News Corporation officially came to an end.

This will also usher in a new reshuffle for the entire American media industry.

Of course, this is the result that ordinary people want to see the most, and many people have celebrated it on social media.

……

Los Angeles IRS, Commissioner's Office.

"Okay, I understand, Deputy Commissioner Donald. I will make the handover of things at the Los Angeles IRS smoothly..."

After hanging up the phone, a hint of joy appeared on David's face.

His inauguration date has been set for October 12th.

The thought of stepping into the highest power center of the IRS filled him with excitement.

Of course, besides completing the handover work here, there was another thing he had to do during this time. He immediately picked up the phone and called Ted, John, and Sally respectively...

The next day at noon, the three of them arrived at David's office.

Despite the ordeal of the night, the three men were still brimming with excitement at finally having such a large piece of meat in their hands.

"Director David, this is a preliminary packaging and promotion plan that the three of us came up with for you yesterday. What do you think of it?"

Sally handed over a document.

Although the obstacle of News Corporation has now been overcome, his promotion under the guidance of this group still generated a lot of controversy.

So when Donald called yesterday, he told David that he should take advantage of these few days to promote himself and restore his positive image.

Therefore, David immediately found the three men and asked them to come up with a complete plan overnight so that it could be implemented as soon as possible.

After carefully reviewing the plan for about ten minutes and confirming that there were no problems with it, David said, "Okay, let's implement it this way!"

"Okay, then we'll get right back and get to work on it immediately!"

"Oh, by the way, are things alright with News Corp.?"

Although News Corporation was somewhat ruined by Murdoch before his departure, its foundation is still intact. Such a propaganda organization is still quite important to David, so naturally he doesn't want to see any mishaps.

"Although we are not the actual controllers now, we will be able to officially take control once the shareholders' meeting is held, so there is no need to worry about that."

Sally said with absolute certainty.

"Alright, you can go back and make the arrangements. I'll contact you again if anything comes up."

……

Over the next few days, Sally DeJohn and her two partners used their media channels to promote David's appointment at full speed.

They listed various benefits of David's appointment as a senior IRS official, such as having more power to handle more and larger tax cases, which would increase tax revenue and benefit the public.

But that's not what excites the public the most. What excites the public the most is that these three people also manipulate some of their media outlets to deliberately release some "rumors".

For example, David intends to support a bill called the "Welfare Act" after taking office as a senior official in the General Administration, which would subsidize the existing welfare system by one-third.

It's important to understand that welfare payments are a basic guarantee in developed countries, and this can be considered a benefit for all citizens.

Upon hearing about such a tremendous benefit, the American people went wild. They no longer opposed David's promotion, and many even declared that if David could support the bill and it succeeded, they would unconditionally support him as the director of the IRS!

Within just a few days, the public opinion surrounding David's promotion completely shifted to positive reviews, which made him marvel at the power of the media.

Time flies, and it's now October 10th.

Today, the Los Angeles IRS has ceased most of its operations. All auditors, tax chiefs, and tax inspectors are staying at the office, but they all share the same expression: dejection.

Several days ago, they had been notified that their director, David, would be going to headquarters on the 12th to take up his new post.

The thought that all the glory and attention the Los Angeles IRS would receive would vanish with their director filled these people with indescribable sorrow.

"Where is your bureau chief?"

Just as the inspectors in the office hall were feeling down, a strong voice rang out, forcing them to put aside their thoughts and look up.

The person who arrived was none other than João, the California State Commissioner of the IRS.

"Director João, our director is still in his office handing over some work. Should we inform him?"

A tax official stepped forward and asked.

João waved his hand and said, "Since he is doing handover work, let's not disturb him for now. I came here to say goodbye to your director."

"All right……"

In the following hours, David's old subordinates Keanu, Lewis and others also arrived, as did the directors of several other districts and some high-ranking officials, all there to say goodbye to David.

Director's Office.

"Alright, that's all I wanted to say and explain. The Los Angeles IRS is counting on you now!"

One by one, the senior officials of the Los Angeles IRS left, until finally only Buckinson Simmons and one of the IRS's deputy commissioners, Osatoval, remained.

At this moment, Osatoval showed a hint of conflict on his face, because he had served as the deputy director of Los Angeles for nine years, and his seniority and contributions were more than sufficient.

If David is transferred now, according to the practice of various bureaus across the country, he should be the one to take over.

But the problem is that Los Angeles is no ordinary place; it's the second-largest city in the United States, and its importance is self-evident.

To become the bureau chief here, one either needs a very powerful background or, like David, must rise to power against all odds by leveraging immense prestige and tax contributions.

He had neither of those things, and he hadn't received a single notification from the General Administration in the past few days, which proved that the successor the General Administration was going to choose was definitely not him, which naturally made him anxious.

With David now transferred, the position of IRS commissioner in Los Angeles has become vacant, which is a golden opportunity for him.

If the General Administration really finalizes the selection and issues an announcement, then he will have absolutely no chance.

His biggest chance now is to get David's support.

According to the IRS system's usual practice, the former chief of staff has a certain right to recommend his successor, but this is not actually what Osatoval values ​​most.

What he values ​​most is that David is about to be promoted to a high-level position in the General Administration, and as a high-level official in the General Administration, he will not only have the right to recommend candidates, but also the right to make decisions.

Therefore, if David can recommend him at a high-level meeting after taking office, his chances of taking office will be much greater.

However, since David was transferred here, although he has been constantly trying to curry favor and cooperate with various tasks, he seems to have never been able to gain David's approval, which is why he has been hesitant to speak up these past few days.

"How is it, Deputy Director Osatoval? Is there anything else?"

"I……"

Hearing David's reminder, Osatoval finally snapped out of his reverie. After hesitating for a moment, he finally steeled himself and said, "Chief, what are your thoughts on the newly appointed chief?"

"The newly appointed director... I really hadn't thought about that."

David's face showed a thoughtful expression, but of course, this was just an act.

These past few days, this deputy director has been jumping around and fawning over everyone. He's not blind, so how could he not see through it?

Actually, he wasn't entirely without ideas about his successor.

After all, Los Angeles is a very important territory in the IRS system. If his confidants control it, he will have more say in the IRS in the future.

In his opinion, it would be best if Keanu took over.

After all, Keanu was someone he had personally mentored. Although they weren't as close as Buckyson, Simmons, and the other two, Keanu was definitely one of his own.

Keanu is currently the chief of the western suburbs precinct, so it would be procedurally reasonable for him to be transferred to be the Los Angeles City Police Chief.

The only problem is that Keanu isn't like him, with such dazzling prestige and tax achievements to back him up.

Keanu's promotion from tax inspector to deputy director, and then to director of the western suburbs branch, has been nothing short of meteoric, making many people envious.

Los Angeles is no ordinary place; it's a battleground for various factions within the IRS system, so David wasn't very confident he could secure his position.

"Chief, the Los Angeles IRS is a very important place. If you'd like... I can hold down the fort here for you, so we can work together seamlessly at headquarters!"

Osatoval ultimately didn't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so he gritted his teeth and confessed.

His words were essentially telling David, "From now on, I'm your man, I'll follow your lead, please support me."

"Deputy Director Osatoval, you can keep your words to yourself, but don't go around spreading them. The selection of the Los Angeles Police Chief is not something you or I can discuss right now; it's a matter for the headquarters' decision-making body to decide!"

Hearing these somewhat reproachful words, Osatoval's mood sank. Could it be that he had been too impatient these past few days and had displeased David?

"However, I will soon be entering the decision-making level of the General Administration, and then I will have the right to discuss it. You have worked diligently in the Los Angeles IRS for so many years and made considerable contributions. If it is appropriate, I may recommend you."

David is right; he would only consider Osatoval if he failed to work with Keanu.

Although he didn't quite trust the deputy director, he couldn't just stand by and watch someone else's cronies take over this important territory.

"That's great!"

Osatovar, whose spirits had plummeted, was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Although he sensed that David's words weren't entirely supportive, he was willing to accept any chance, no matter how small.

(End of this chapter)