To participate in a rare and thorough IRS audit, two former senior FBI officials were chosen. According to the New York Times on Wednesday, former FBI Director James Comey and Andrew McCabe, who filled in as director for a few months after Comey was fired, were chosen to have their 2017 and 2019 tax returns scrutinized.
The IRS claims that the audits are random, but concerns about the program have been raised in light of the selection of two senior FBI officials who were disliked by former President Donald Trump.
It was discovered that Comey and his wife, Patrice, overpaid their federal income taxes for 2017 and received a $347 refund, according to the report.
According to McCabe, who also stated to the publication that he and his wife, Jill, paid the federal government a small amount of money they owed, the audit is now complete.
The Comeys provided the IRS with financial documents and a Christmas card to prove they had children listed as dependents, and they also paid their accountant about $5,000 in fees, according to the report.
The report examines the issue of whether there was any selective targeting in a program that the IRS claims are random, noting that Trump appointed the IRS commissioner, Charles Rettig and that Trump has been harshly critical of both FBI veterans.
According to the report, among the 153 million individual tax returns filed in 2017, the odds of being targeted by the IRS were roughly 1 in 30,000.
According to the report, neither Comey nor McCabe were aware that the other had been audited until a news outlet reporter informed them.
The IRS issued a statement stating that “Commissioner Rettig is not involved in individual audits or taxpayer cases; those are handled by career civil servants.”
He has never spoken to the White House about I.R.S. enforcement or individual taxpayer issues while serving as I.R.S. commissioner, under either administration. He has made a commitment to operating the I.R.S. in a totally impartial and impartial manner.”
These National Research Program audits choose taxpayers using statistical software, the agency claimed, rather than “employees manually selecting individuals for examination.”
The New York Times claimed that a Freedom of Information Act request led to the acquisition of pertinent documents.
According to Hill, the IRS stated that discussing particular taxpayer situations is prohibited by federal privacy laws.
The statement continued, “Audits are handled by career civil servants, and the IRS has strong safeguards in place to protect the examination process — and against politically motivated audits.”
“It’s absurd and false to suggest that senior IRS officials in some way singled out particular people for National Research Program audits.”
When questioned by the press about “questions” raised by the Comey and McCabe audits, the IRS added that whenever any accusations of wrongdoing are made, the inspector general for tax administration in the Treasury Department is informed “for further review, “said the New York Times report.
Despite not knowing whether anything improper occurred, Comey said in a statement that it made sense to investigate the matter after learning how unusual this audit was and how badly Trump wanted to harm him at the time.
“Perhaps it’s just a coincidence, or perhaps someone abused the I.R.S. to target a political adversary. We ought to know the answer to that question given the role Trump wants to keep playing in our nation.”
McCabe reportedly said, “The revenue agent I dealt with was courteous and capable. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how or why I was chosen for this.”
McCabe stated his support for an investigation during a Wednesday appearance on CNN. “There should be some — we should look into this and find out what happened,” he said. “People need to be able to trust the institutions of government… so that’s why there should be some.”
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President Joe Biden approved Rettig’s request to keep his position as IRS commissioner. After Trump left office, the audits of the Comeys and the McCabes began in November 2019 and October 2021, respectively.
Even though Rettig’s term is set to expire in November, the audits have renewed calls for his dismissal.
“I have repeatedly demanded that Charles Rettig, the head of the Trump IRS, be fired. This is yet another allegation of widespread corruption coming from his office. Rettig is fired, “Senator tweeted.
