Andrew McCabe, left, and James Comey.
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Former FBI Director James Comey and Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Were Rare and Hard irs audit Their 2017 and 2019 returns, respectively, were provided to both men, according to letters from the IRS. new York Times,
According to the Times, Comey was told about the audit in 2019, while McCabe learned in 2021.
McCabe took over the reins of the FBI during turbulent days in 2017, when then-President Donald Trump suddenly fired Comey, and he himself was fired the following year. Comey’s removal led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to lead the government’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump has repeatedly attacked both men over the Russia investigation, and has publicly called for both of them to be prosecuted.
According to copies of letters published by the Times, IRS letters to both the men and their spouses stated, “Your federal income tax return for the year shown above was randomly selected for a compliance research exam.” “We should scrutinize randomly selected tax returns to better understand tax compliance and improve the fairness of the tax system. We’ll give you an opportunity to explain any errors we find during the exam.”
The letters said Comey’s audit referred to 2017 returns and McCabe’s 2019 returns.
Typically, returns filed within the last three years can be found through an audit, the IRS website. can be included in states,
Comey did not immediately return NBC News’ request for comment, but he addressed the audit in a statement to the Times. “I don’t know if anything inappropriate happened, but knowing how unusual this audit was and how badly Trump wanted to hurt me during that time, it made sense to try to figure it out,” he said. “Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe someone misused the IRS to get a political enemy. Given the role Trump wants to play in our country, we need to know the answer to that question.”
Trump-appointed Charles Rattig has headed the IRS since 2018.
The audit reportedly found that Comey and his wife had overpaid in 2017. According to the Times, he later received a refund of $347.
McCabe did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News, but told the Times that the results of his audit showed he and his wife were charged with a small amount that the couple paid.
“The revenue agent I dealt with was professional and responsive,” McCabe said. “Still, I have important questions about how or why I was selected for it.”
For all returns filed for tax years 2011 to 2019, the IRS scrutinized 0.55 percent of individual returns filed, the agency said in its data Book Published in September.
When reached for comment, an IRS spokesperson cited federal privacy laws, which they said barred the agency from discussing specific taxpayer situations.
“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. The research program has targeted specific individuals for audit,” spokeswoman Jody Reynolds wrote in an email to NBC News. “We cannot comment on specific situations. Whenever allegations of wrongdoing are made on a tax matter, we regularly reach out to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for further review.”
Spokesmen for Trump did not return NBC News’ request for comment. The Times said a spokesman for Trump said the former president had “no knowledge” of the audit.
was comey suddenly fired In 2017 when his agency was investigating whether people involved in Trump’s presidential campaign had undeclared links to Russia. McCabe becomes acting director after Comey’s firing only to be terminated Within days of becoming eligible for full pension benefits after months.
Trump has often ridiculed the two officials and others over investigations into election interference and obstruction of justice in the 2016 presidential election. Trump accused both Comey and McCabe of treason and claimed that FBI and Justice Department officials had launched a Russia investigation in order to hurt him politically.
an internal justice department monitoring report It was later found that the Russia investigation stemmed from evidence that Moscow was using the cutouts to access the Trump campaign as part of its efforts to influence the election.