The US Internal Revenue Service said Thursday it had asked for an independent probe into rare, intrusive audits of two former FBI chiefs who were prominent opponents of former President Donald Trump.
James Comey, the FBI director until he was fired by Trump in 2017, and Andrew McCabe, Comey’s deputy and temporary replacement, were both subject to Internal Revenue Service reviews while the Republican billionaire was in office.
Individuals are said to be randomly selected for the IRS’s National Research Program audits, giving Comey a roughly one-in-30,000 chance of being selected in 2017, while McCabe’s chances in 2019 were roughly one-in-20,000.
The revelation, first reported by the New York Times, raised questions about how two men who headed the country’s top domestic police agency, and who Trump regarded as one of his most profiled enemies, could both have been singled out.
Trump fired Comey in 2017 and then asked him to be arrested for treason, angered by his probe into the then-president’s extensive ties to Russia.
McCabe, who became assistant FBI director after Comey’s firing, was fired by Trump’s Justice Department over allegations of lying to investigators who were never followed up by charges.
McCabe again berated Trump with unfounded allegations of treason and relentlessly pushed for his indictment.
“I don’t know if anything inappropriate happened, but after learning how unusual this exam was and how badly Trump wanted to hurt me during this time, it made sense to try to find out,” Comey said in a statement the Times.
“Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe someone used the IRS to get at a political enemy. Given the role Trump wants to continue playing in our country, we should know the answer to that question.”
– “Political orientation” –
The IRS confirmed in a statement that its 2018 Trump-appointed chief, Chuck Rettig, personally asked a Treasury Department inspector general for a review.
“Audits are conducted by career officials, and the IRS has strong safeguards in place to protect the audit process — and against politically motivated audits,” spokeswoman Jodie Reynolds told AFP.
“It is ridiculous and untrue to suggest that senior IRS officials have somehow targeted certain individuals for National Research Program audits.”
The referral was backed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Richard Neal, the Democratic chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement Comey and McCabe’s “political targeting” was “a rift in the IRS’s fragile credibility.”
Republican counterpart Kevin Brady said he supports the “investigation of all allegations of political targeting,” adding that the IRS should never be used as a weapon against political opponents.
Trump’s officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, although the Times reported that a spokesman said the ex-president was “unaware”.
Comey’s investigation took more than a year, and it found that he and his wife overpaid their 2017 federal income taxes and received a $347 refund.
McCabe told the Times he and his wife paid a small amount owed to them.
“I have important questions about how or why I was selected for this,” he said.
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