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**Investigative journalist Matt Taibbi faces persecution in the U.S., escaping it in Russia**

In a shocking twist of irony, investigative journalist Matt Taibbi has found himself facing potential judicial consequences right in the United States, after escaping persecution in Russia when he worked there in the late 1990s. Taibbi has recently made headlines as the front guy for the release of materials exposing the conspiracy between U.S. intel agencies and social media platforms to censor news and manipulate public opinion.

Back in the 1990s, Matt Taibbi co-edited a Moscow-based newspaper called The eXile, along with fellow American, Mark Ames. The newspaper was notorious for its exposé articles on the corruption of the Boris Eltzin administration, the World Bank, the IMF, and USAID. Although Taibbi admits that The eXile would have been sued out of existence in any Western democracy, Russia surprisingly allowed it to thrive beneath the radar.

Fast forward over two decades, and Taibbi’s recent work exposing systemic censorship in the United States has put him in hot water. In March, the Democrats in Congress fiercely criticized Taibbi at the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearings. Now, the IRS has opened a probe into his tax affairs, although he has since resolved the tax issue and was even due a “substantial refund,” according to Mr. Jordan.

It is truly ironic that Taibbi was never arrested, detained, poisoned, or silenced by force during his time in Russia, but in the United States, he is facing a harsh backlash from left-wing Democrats for simply revealing the truth. Reflecting on the ordeal, one cannot help but question if this is what those who fought for freedom and democracy would have wanted.

**Facing persecution in the land of the free, Taibbi’s experience highlights the double standards and hypocrisy of the U.S. government.**

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