I recall Congressman James Traficant drew the ire of the IRS for authorizing Section 7491 that was added to the Code by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 to shift the burden of proof to the IRS in civil tax cases. Earlier, IRS agents got bonuses for ripping off taxpayers. And many times, taxpayers settled their cases, even though they were innocent. What is so shocking about that? The American people have known this for years. The law that Traficant sponsored required the IRS to have a court order before it can seize property or enforce a summons. It took steps to guarantee Americans due process when dealing with the IRS and forced the IRS to cease identifying those of us who resist the income tax as “illegal tax protestors.”

What has happened to this law? It appears it has been disappeared.

To understand why it was enacted one needs to know a little history – particularly that of former Congressman James Traficant of Ohio. Traficant was arguably one of the most outspoken, honest, populist politician of our time. His one minute speeches on the House floor were the most entertaining part of the day. He was a maverick who played by his own rules. While representing Ohio’s 17th district in Congress for 9 terms, he fought hard to bring federal funds back to his Ohio district, and he opposed illegal immigration, outsourcing American jobs and abortion among other things. Being a Democrat, he often voted against other Democrats if he didn’t agree with them—and paid the price. He took on the special-interest forces behind the U.S. government, such as the privately owned and controlled Federal Reserve and the powerful Israeli lobby. The Ohio congressman was also targeted for saving John Demjanjuk from the clutches of the Holocaust industry and bringing him home safely from Israel where he was unjustly sentenced to hang, an act of defiance his enemies would never forget. Unfortunately, though, Traficant paid the price for his principles, especially after standing up to the Israeli lobby.

Before being elected to Congress, Traficant made headlines as a Sheriff by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work by the closures of steel mills. This endeared him to the local population but also made him a target of the bankers.

In 1983, Traficant was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Jim, who fired his lawyers and represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own secret undercover investigation into corruption. He was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself.

Publicity from the RICO trial turned out to be a major boon for Traficant’s popularity. In 1984, Traficant ran as a Democrat for the congressional seat in Ohio’s 17th District and won. He was reelected eight more times without serious opposition.

I use to love listening to Congressman James Traficant speeches in Congress. To me, he was another "Kingfish" Huey Long, Will Rogers, and Mark Twain rolled up in one.