Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann defended her past employment as a tax lawyer at the Internal Revenue Service during a campaign speech in South Carolina. Bachmann claimed she worked at the IRS in an effort to infiltrate the agency. She told the crowd, “The first rule of war is 'know your enemy.'” Her comments were recorded by an audience member who posted them online.

Rep. Michele Bachmann: “How many of you love the IRS? No, it’s time to change it. I once worked in that system, because the first rule of war is 'know your enemy.' So I went to the inside and learned how they work, because I wanted to beat them.”

She concluded her comments by saying she went inside IRS to learn how they work, because she wanted to beat them.