J.D. TUCCILLE: At the Core of the IRS Saga: Tax Collectors as Political Hitmen. “It’s all good fun to mock the Internal Revenue Service’s plausibility-challenged explanations for just how potentially embarrassing (to the IRS) emails were lost and why they can’t be recovered, but let’s not forget what’s at the core of the story: the tax collection agency’s long and storied history as a political hitman. IRS audits have been targeted at political opponents of incumbent presidents, tax information has been leaked about enemies of powerful members of Congress, and the agency’s own employees have abused their power for personal reasons.”