We will be short-staffed for the Holidays. If you encounter difficulty reaching us by phone, kindly leave a detailed voicemail, and we'll promptly return your call. Alternatively, you can contact us via email at questions@freedomlawschool.org.
This is a practical method of winning an I.R.S. summons while maintaining your privacy and giving the I.R.S. no information to use against you, utilizing the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
A product of:
The Freedom Law SchoolPO Box 10599 Brooksville, FL 34603-10599(813) 444-4800 | www.livefreenow.org
Written by: Peymon Mottahedeh
WARNING/DISCLAIMER:Government officials want you to know that, according to them, only an officer of one of their courts (usually referred to as an attorney), may give you any kind of “legal advice”. Therefore, the author is hereby letting you know that he is neither an officer of the government’s courts (attorney), nor by producing this work intending to give out “legal advice”.The purpose of this work and all other works of FREEDOM LAW SCHOOL and/or Peymon Mottahedeh are to spread the truth of the laws of nature as they apply to relations of people living on earth, and to inform people of how they may live free consistent with such laws.You are strongly encouraged to fully seek out and verify the accuracy and correctness of the truths expressed in this work so that you can take full responsibility for its use. If you are not prepared to seek out and verify the truth for yourself, you should first consult an officer of the court (attorney).This work is strictly protected from control and abuse by all government entities in the United States by the laws of nature and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free!Common law copyright of this product is owned by FREEDOM LAW SCHOOL and Peymon Mottahedeh, February 5, 1996, PO Box 10599, Brooksville, FL 34603-10599, (813) 444-4800. Please support us in our efforts to bring solid material to the freedom movement. If you want to get this material to your friends inexpensively, do not photocopy this book, but contact us for multiple copy discounts, which we are happy to provide. To obtain a copy of our classes on CD-ROM, just write, call us or visit our website at LiveFreeNow.Org
HOW TO WIN AN I.R.S. SUMMONS EVERY TIME!!!
One of the most fundamental principles of American systems of law is the absolute prohibition against “forced confessions”. The early Americans were so concerned about the possible use of torture in obtaining a confession that they included in the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution an absolute prohibition against forcing someone to be a witness against himself.The 5th Amendment in part states: “No person …shall be compelled [forced] in any criminal case to be a witness against himself…”. To punish the government and its agents for violating this restriction upon them, the courts have ruled that if any government agent forces you to give any testimony that might be used against you, the forced testimony can not be used against you in any criminal trial. Furthermore, the courts have ruled that you don’t have to answer any question the answering of which may provide a link in a chain of information to be used against you. Read the case of Hoffman v. U.S., 341 U.S. 479 (1951) for an example of this principle.The courts have correctly ruled that when you fill out and sign a tax return or give any information to the I.R.S., you have done so voluntarily. To verify this, you only need to read the two government sources below:1. At the bottom of the “1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return”, after filling out the entire form, you are asked to “Sign Here” which reads: “Under penalties of perjury (meaning ‘put me in prison if I lie’), I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are true, correct and complete.” (emphasis mine)No one can force you to sign a piece of paper and state that everything on it is true, correct and complete, and force you to sign it under oath so that if the information is even in part not true, correct and complete, you can be sent to prison (penalty of perjury).So if you do fill out and sign a tax return, you have done so voluntarily and if you want all the breaks you have claimed on your tax return, otherwise known as deductions and credits, then you might have to expose your whole financial and perhaps personal, health and other private affairs to verify that you truly deserve and qualify for your breaks, deductions and credits.If this is the case, there is not much that you can do to protect your privacy, and this book won’t be helpful to you in any significant way.2. In 26 CFR (the regulations of the Internal Revenue Laws, which the IRS is suppose to follow), in section 301.7602-1 Examination of Books and Witnesses, in part, states: “This summons power may be used in an investigation of either civil or criminal tax-related liability”.Here, plain as day, the law is saying that the IRS may use its summons power to gather criminal information on you. But, how can they do this without violating the prohibitions of the 5th Amendment by having you become a witness against yourself?The answer is very simple. If you are a sucker, in love with your IRS agent, think the government will never trick you, or uninformed of your natural rights and the restrictions of the 5th Amendment on the government, you can exercise your natural right of free speech as protected by the 1st Amendment, and blabber about yourself, placing the rope around your own neck voluntarily.Remember, every piece of information you give to the IRS, you give voluntarily.So, why does the IRS say you cannot use the 5th Amendment in a summons? Many freedom lovers have tried to use the 5th Amendment in a way the courts have not approved. These people refused to answer anything the IRS asked of them (a blanket assertion of the 5th Amendment).The courts have ruled that since taxes are the “lifeblood of the government (and the courts)” [somehow this reminds me of Dracula movies], you must submit yourself to Dracula -- excuse me, I mean IRS -- so that they may determine your share of the taxes. But you may refuse to answer any question that may be used against you in a criminal trial, one question at a time.Many freedom lovers, by asserting a blanket 5th Amendment objection, have refused to answer any question that the IRS wanted to ask them. The courts have punished such freedom lovers with prison by finding them in contempt of court after the freedom lover refuses to buckle under and submit.It is a shame that so many wonderful Americans knew enough of the truth to understand it, but not well enough to keep themselves out of prison.Please listen up and etch this in your mind very deeply. Here is the key: You have to exercise the 5th Amendment against the IRS questioning, one question at a time.Basically, the courts have forced you to play this game with the IRS; a game you can win every time if you do it right. The IRS relies on people’s fear and ignorance of the law to sucker them into hanging themselves.There are basically only 3 kinds of questions an IRS agent might ask you:
Let’s address each of these, one at a time:1. If they ask you to produce a document they want, even your mere acknowledgement that such a document exists is sufficient testimony to provide the link to a chain of information that can be used against you.So, when asked to produce documents -- as in “Do you have the documents for which we summoned you with you today?” -- your proper response would be, “I object to this question. I decline to answer this question. I am invoking the 5th Amendment on the grounds that such information or documents, should they exist, could possibly be used against me in a criminal prosecution.”2. If they ask for your testimony (“Where do you work?” or “Did you have any income?”), again, any such information you provide may be the link to a chain of information they may use against you.So, when asked to testify about your job, income, stocks, investments and the like, your proper response would be: “I object to this question. I decline to answer this question. I am invoking the 5th Amendment on the grounds that I do not wish to provide any evidence, or link to a chain of information, which may possibly be used against me in a criminal prosecution.”3. If they ask you irrelevant questions, such as: “What is your telephone number?”, or “Who is your closest of kin and their address and phone number?”, or “Who do you live with?”, or a host of other nosy questions --all designed to either gain control of the summons or acquire information about you to better locate you in the future or for any number of reasons, none of which are in your interest -- you should object that the question is not relevant to the summons.The IRS has as much legal right to know the answer to those questions as they have the right to know how many times you made love with your spouse last year. Basically, it’s none of their business, not related to the summons, and the summons did not require you to provide any such information.If an IRS agent asks you any question not directly relevant to the summons, simply tell them “I don’t see the relevancy of this question to the summons", and ask "Would you please explain how this question relates to the summons?" or, "Where in the summons am I required to answer such a question?"The agent either will back off or will try to overcome you with their attitude of authority and righteousness. If their question is truly irrelevant, don’t be fooled, don’t let them intimidate you and don’t back off until they drop that question.If you discover that their question is relevant to the summons, no problem, just assert the 5th Amendment as stated above.Your proper assertion of the 5th Amendment, as stated above, will sooner or later frustrate the IRS agent. He realizes that he is not getting far with you and will declare the summons (or the “interview”) over. This can take less than 5 minutes or over an hour, but always be patient and courteous, yet assertive and firm.Of course, you gave the IRS agent at least a 10-day notice of your intent to audiotape the summons so that they have enough time to secure a tape recorder to record the summons too. (Remember, bureaucrats are never known to be very fast).You start the interview by introducing the summons time, location and identify all persons present in the room. Identify the agents by their ID badge and read their ID number on the record. (If they don't give their name or ID number, their lack of cooperation is wonderfully reflected on the record. This makes you look better.) You or your witnesses (of which I recommend bringing two) only need to state their names and do not need to show any IDs.The only information you (the summoned person) should give them is your name and address. They already have your "Satan's Surveillance Number" (SSN), so you don’t need to give that.Before the end of the summons, firmly yet courteously state that you would like to make a statement. (IRS agents love to let you talk. They hope they might catch something out of your statement.) Now, start giving a photocopy of the most powerful authorities you know that support your position on the proper assertion of the 5th Amendment as it applies to an IRS Summons.These authorities, which are only a partial listing of cases supporting the proper use of the 5th Amendment, are listed below. A download link is provided at the end of this blog post. Read these cases carefully and make sure you have a clear and firm understanding of the 5th Amendment before you consider utilizing them. If you come up with higher and newer authorities on this subject, please let us know so that we may publicize them in our next edition. Here are the citations:1. 26 CFR Part 301.7602-1 Examination of books and witnesses: Here, straight out of "the horse’s mouth", the Code of Federal Regulations states: “This summons power may be used in an investigation of either civil or criminal tax related liability.” It further states that the IRS can use this fishing tool to suck information out of you to use against you, so long as they have not yet referred your case to the Justice Department for investigation or prosecution.So, the IRS will delay the referral to the Justice Department until they get as much information out of you as they can during the summons interview, then they will refer you to the Justice Department for investigation and prosecution.2. The Internal Revenue Service “Handbook for Special Agents" (Criminal Investigation Intelligence Division), pages 9781 - 9788, section 342.12, "Books and records ofan individual" states: “An individual taxpayer may refuse to exhibit his books and records for examination on the grounds that compelling him to do so might violate his right against self-incrimination under the 5th Amendment and constitute an illegal search and seizure under the 4th Amendment…” There it is, the IRS telling their own best agents that they cannot legally force you to give them any documents.3. United States v. Argomamiz, 925 F.2d 1349 (11th Circuit, 1991): This court case shows how a witness may properly assert the 5th Amendment in an IRS summons and that a blanket refusal to produce records or testify is not the proper way to assert the 5th Amendment.4. Internal Revenue Service memorandum: From an IRS attorney in Denver, in which he states that the 5th Amendment protects the individual discussed in that case and in effect, “The summons is not enforceable…”5. United States v. Doe, 465 U.S. 605 (1984), shows how the 5th Amendment protects a person asserting privilege from producing certain business records, and that even the act of production of documents involves testimonial self incrimination.6. United States v. Troescher, 99 F.3d 933 (9th Circuit, 1996) Another court case in which the court stated that the proper time to bring up the 5th Amendment is when you are “presented with specific questions” and you can take the 5th to individual questions in an IRS Summons proceeding.7. Hoffman v. United States, 341 U.S. 479 (1951): This 1950s Supreme Court case show that even gangsters have a right to assert the 5th Amendment. The court explains the evils of forced testimony and why it was adopted in the American System of Laws.8. United States v. LaSALLE NATIONAL BANK, 437 U.S. 298 (1978): Here the Supreme Court verifies what you already knew in the CFR quoted above; that an IRS summons is civil and criminal in nature, and until the IRS recommends investigation of you to the Justice Department, the IRS can use this summons power to gather information about you.9. Fisher v. United States, 425 U.S. 391, 409 (1976). The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination "protects a person against being incriminated by his own compelled testimony or communications."10. Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 445 (1972) Privilege "can be asserted in any proceeding, civil or criminal, administrative, or judicial, investigatory or adjudicatory."11. United States v. Roundtree, 420 F2d 845, 852 (5th Cir. 1969).The assertion of the privilege may not be a blanket refusal to produce or to testify.I strongly recommend that you leave a copy of at least half of the above authorities with the IRS agent at the end of your interview, and cite the name, title and reference of the authority into the record. On items 1) and 2), read the relevant section on the record. Let the IRS agent hear you quoting out of their CFRs and handbook for special agents.By doing so and spending the extra $5 on copies, you are letting the IRS agent know that you know the law, and if they decide to go to the U.S. District Court, they are wasting their time as well as providing the freedom movement a newer win like the Troescher, Argomaniz, or Fisher cases.After the interview, have a transcriber (you can find them in the yellow pages under “court reporters”, “stenographers”, or “transcribers”) transcribe your audiotape of the summons into written form. Now, mail a copy of the written transcript to the IRS agent along with a cover letter, in which you ask the IRS agent to review the transcript and make any corrections on it that they wish, and to let you know within 30 days that the transcription was a true reflection of the utterances of all parties present in the summons.The IRS is very busy processing over 100 million returns every year. The agent is under such pressure from superiors to produce, that after seeing how prepared and knowledgeable you are about the law and proper assertion of it, they will most likely leave you alone after the summons and go after an easier target.Maybe later a new agent will get your file and decide to look anew. Or you might get a letter from the IRS attorney after the Summons, in which he incorrectly accuses you: “You failed to give testimony and to produce the documentation requested, so we are considering recommending the commencement of an enforcement action [taking you to court]. To prevent such recommendation, you must appear before Revenue Officer… at… on…, and produce the documents and records described in the Summons. If you do not so appear, we will recommend that the United States Attorney begin a judicial action in the United States District Court to enforce compliance with the summons.”Don’t get scared with this huff and puff of the IRS Attorney. We recommend that you go to the new summons date and go through the same song and dance with them. It is less hassle to show up one more time and play this silly game, which they are playing, hoping that you blink first, than go to court. They will very likely drop the whole thing after this new summons.If they decide to take you to court anyway, consider yourself lucky. You are hereby selected to be the next Argomaniz, Fisher, or Troescher to be made famous by the IRS in the freedom movement. Who knows, you might be the lucky one the IRS chooses to take to the U.S. Supreme Court to lose the case and broadcast throughout the United States this inherent weakness of IRS intimidation tactics. Remember how Ms. Roe’s case in one day overturned many states’ abortion laws?However, if the IRS does decide to take you to court to “enforce the summons”, then contact a competent and experienced counsel to assist you or contact Freedom Law School for a referral to a competent and experienced counsel.There is so much involved in the handling of a summons hearing that rather than attempting to write down all my observations about those cases in writing, I have included the Ericson and the Snyder hearings transcripts with analyses in one of the classes in Freedom Law School's "Level 2" course (formerly "Practical Applications of Citizenship, Law and Court Procedures"). Study them carefully.I want to thank Mr. Ericson and Mr. Snyder for permitting me to publish the written and audio transcripts of their summons to educate you and other freedom lovers in America. It was a pleasure to serve you both. Thank you for your courage and commitment to the cause of freedom.I alone cannot take full credit for this work. My learning and application of the 5th Amendment was made possible by the hard work and dedication of many freedom lovers. Many of them I probably will never personally know, but there are several individuals that I wish to specifically mention: Bill Conklin, Jerome Daly, Shawn O’Connor, Steve Hempfling, and Stan Justice.CAUTIONThere are many other ways of winning an IRS Summons without losing your privacy and without giving the IRS any information to use against you, just the same as there is more than one way to skin a cat. Some of the approaches that are touted out there are so technical or dubious in legal authority that renders their use risky. I wish them all the best of luck.The reason I utilize the 5th Amendment approach is because, it works every time if done properly.It is relatively the easiest and simplest method of winning an IRS Summons. If the going gets tough and the IRS chooses not to let up, we know exactly what to do. Unfortunately, I cannot say that about many of the other approaches, which I have heard about. After the freedom lover’s challenge to the IRS’s jurisdiction (on whatever basis it might be) is denied, the freedom lover does not know the proper next step to take and often pays a sad price for his lack of knowledge.Do yourself a favor and do not reinvent the wheel. Use the 5th Amendment method and your success will lead you to other successes.Even though the 5th Amendment approach is a relatively easy and simple approach, Do not attempt to utilize this approach or any other approach without competent and experienced assistance. The IRS agents tend to be manipulative, overbearing, intimidating, sly or conniving. They will attempt to confuse you and get you off point.In these kind of situations it literally pays to spend a little to get competent and experienced assistance, rather than going solo, making a mistake and hiring the same help at twice the cost to dig you out of the hole you just dug yourself.If you do not know of a competent and experienced counsel in your area, contact Freedom Law School at (813) 444-4800 for a referral and give serious consideration to becoming a Restore Freedom Plan member.GOOD NEWSIn the 1860s, Congress imposed the first income tax in U.S. history to pay the expenses of the Civil War. After the War, Congress did not repeal this tax (no surprise here). However, the American people put up such a lawful resistance to this tax that they practically made the collection of taxes a task not worth its operating expenses.Today, we have many well-meaning freedom lovers who, based on a friend or a ‘friend of a friend’s word’ (who knows a little more about law than they do), attempt to fight the IRS with theories that even if correct (which many are not), are not provable in a court of law. The courts (the only authority the IRS recognizes and adheres to) do not recognize these theories.Furthermore, by lack of our willingness to read and learn law and the proper procedures and the desire in all of us to do it the easy way (the silver bullet syndrome), we often end up losing to the IRS. The IRS and their agents are so incompetent and inefficient that you can easily beat them.Just don’t rely on any silver bullet solution to save you. These silver bullets are, but not limited to:
How do I know that these methods don’t work? Although I did not try them myself (I was more cautious), I closely observed my other friends who did try them and who failed miserably. And it was not just because my friends did not do it right (which the propounding gurus of these theories said were the reason why things did not work), but because the methods were simply wrong.I know I will not make a lot of new friends with the above statements; in fact, I have probably made a few enemies. But if I can save someone’s home, bank account or paycheck from being seized by the IRS or save someone from going to prison, by them not using the “Silver Bullet” theories as the solution, then I have done my job.If instead of chasing 'silver bullets', we simply apply the proper remedies available in law with the proper procedure, I believe we can bring about the abolishment of the IRS and the income tax in the same manner as the Americans of the 1870s did with their Income tax.I believe you will find freedom by a close observance of the following quotes:
"Freedom is not free."
"If a nation wishes to be ignorant and free, they want something that never has been and never will be."
"Seek the Truth and the Truth shall set you free."
Yours in Freedom,Peymon MottahedehFounder of Freedom Law School