American Tax Officer

"It's not that we don't recognize the validity, it's just that Senator Phipps believes that if Director David hadn't launched an investigation, then the source of this information is perhaps too closely guarded..."

Melinda hurriedly attempted to smooth things over.

"Heh heh."

Donald sneered and said, "It's not necessarily that our Director David's sources are closely guarded. Couldn't it be that certain individuals are sloppy with their own affairs and leaked information?"

These so-called certain individuals naturally referred to Phipps.

At this time, Phipps, who had clearly detected the sarcasm in Donald's tone, replied with a touch of dissatisfaction, "Who's been sloppy? The methods of Director David at the IRS are well known. If he wanted to, who could say with certainty that none of their privacy would be leaked?"

"Senator Phipps, what exactly do you mean now?"

The gaze of the two men met, an invisible gunpowder filling the air between them.

Thinking about the midterm election in November, if he couldn't secure a massive approval rate from criminals, Phipps was likely to lose his Senate seat, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "No other meaning. I just think we should send another investigative team from Washington D.C. to take another thorough look at this matter. If this time nothing turns up again, I'll let it go!"

"You want to investigate, then investigate. Do you think our IRS is your backyard? Do you know that because of your investigation, the Western Suburb Branch has been practically shut down for the past couple of days, causing how much work to be delayed and how much tax revenue to be lost? You're going to compensate us for these tax revenues, right?"

What Donald really wanted to say was, "I fucking gave you some respect, didn't I?"

You messed around with the dark tax law, and now you're doggedly after the Western Suburb Branch, is this ever going to end?

"Chairwoman Melinda, you should be aware of how severe America's current fiscal pressure is. The White House highly values the contribution made by the Western Suburb Branch, and if you continue to persist like this, when it comes time to fail to meet the tax performance targets given by the White House, we will have to cut the Legislature's budget to compensate. Then if Congress shuts down, don't blame us!"

This time, it was Obadiah who spoke.

"Director Obadiah, you're being too severe. We're not trying to trouble the Western Suburb Branch. Alright, since Agent Hulitt has already conducted an investigation there, and since the results are out with no issues found, let's just leave the matter at that. We from the tax committee won't get involved anymore!"

Melinda, serving as both a Congressman and the chair of the tax committee, clearly understood the current economic situation of America. If they really pushed the IRS into a corner and the IRS got tough with fiscal funds, straining Congress's operations, it might actually lead to a Congress shutdown.

After all, no matter how powerful Congress is, the facilities, electricity, labor, and salaries still require funding. If the capital flow gets blocked, various departments and procedures could be paralyzed within minutes.

By then she would bear a heavy burden of responsibility, so seeing the situation going south, she naturally did not want to continue mixing in with the trio of Phipps.

"Chairwoman Melinda..."

"Alright, no need to go on. If you disagree with this matter, you can go and talk to the Speaker of the House!"

Seeing Melinda preparing to abandon ship and run, Phipps became anxious at once, but before he could go on, Melinda abruptly interrupted him.

"Right, I came here to speak with the Speaker of the House as well. Since the three of you have objections, let's all go together."

Seeing that Melinda had already indicated her withdrawal, Obadiah Donald saw no reason to linger and walked out.

Phipps and his trio, however, just stood there gaping at each other.

They naturally dared not go to the Speaker of the House with the matter.

Over the past few days as they had attacked the dark tax law, the IRS had been exerting pressure on the Speaker of the House, trying to get him to control them.

But in their ambition to secure the votes from criminals, they had chosen to ignore the Speaker's words.

If they were to go now, not to mention receiving support, they'd be lucky not to be berated to their faces.

As the trio were at a loss for what to do, Melinda's landline phone started ringing. She picked it up, listened briefly, then putting it down, she told them, "Listen, the Speaker of the House wants to see you, and he reminds you not to think about shirking it!"

The faces of Phipps and his companions instantly soured. The Speaker knew they were at the Legislature Building, and he had even used the phrase "not to shirk," meaning they had no other choice but to go.

An hour later.

Walking out of the Speaker of the House's office, Phipps and his trio looked disheveled and defeated.

Every Congressman at the Legislature Building had their own office, and the place they eventually returned to was Phipps' office.

"Fuck, what do we do now?"

As soon as they entered, Timothy cursed loudly, seemingly venting the frustration in his heart.

They had been chewed out by the Speaker because the IRS had threatened with the President, and also by cutting funds, causing Congress to potentially shut down.

It was only because the Speaker didn't outright strip them of their powers that they probably weren't forced to pack up and leave right then and there.

"With Chairwoman Melinda's tax committee pulling out and the Speaker holding us back, just the three of us will find it very tough to pose any threat to the dark tax law. If we continue on like this, not to mention hoping for a Senate seat, we might not even be able to retain our present seats as Congressmen..."