In a strange twist, Coindesk reports that the IRS has, somewhat indirectly, removed one target from its broad request for data about U.S. users of the Bitcoin exchange Coinbase. It no longer wants data about Jeffrey Berns, a lawyer who also happens to be fighting the IRS’s “John Doe” request in court. From a report on Fortune: Berns originally filed a motion on December 13th asking the U.S. District Court for Northern California to stop the IRS’ subpoena of Coinbase records. The IRS believes that its request, filed in November, is justified because Bitcoin owners “may fail, or may have failed, to comply with one or more provisions of the internal revenue laws.” Berns is represented by his own law firm, Berns Weiss, whose motion argues that the IRS data search is “an abuse of process” and “overbroad.” Berns has said his motion is intended to defend not only himself, but all targeted users. But according to a December 28th court filing by the IRS, Berns is no longer a target of its records request because he identified himself in his own filing, and the request is only for unidentified users. Therefore, the IRS argues, Berns is not a party to proceedings and his request to block the data grab should be thrown out of court. In response, Berns Weiss had its own spin, telling Coindesk that “The IRS’s willingness to withdraw the summons as to Mr. Berns only because it is now aware of his identity,” and without the additional information they’re seeking about many other Coinbase users, “Makes it clear that the IRS does not have a legitimate purpose in seeking substantial personal and financial information concerning approximately 3 million Americans.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.