Politics & Finances

Trump Reportedly Wanted IRS to Investigate Political Foes

Trump Reportedly Wanted IRS to Investigate Political Foes

When Donald Trump was President of the United States, he reportedly wanted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate his political foes, specifically FBI Director James Comey and ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

Trump's former White House chief of staff, John Kelly, shared the information in a new interview with The New York Times. Specifically, Mr. Kelly told the outlet that Mr. Trump said "we ought to investigate" and "get the I.R.S. on" the individuals he disliked in Washington.

Mr. Kelly, who served in the Trump administration between July 2017 and December 2018, told the newspaper that he made clear to Mr. Trump that there were serious legal and ethical issues with what he wanted to do, specifically stating that he told the POTUS, "It's inappropriate and it's illegal."

Eventually, the former President "let the idea go" but would occasionally bring up the idea of having his political opponents investigated again "during subsequent outbursts." 

The irony here, of course, is that Trump himself is currently doing everything in his power to block the release of his own tax records to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Recently, the House of Representatives petitioned the Supreme Court to release the documents after Chief Justice John Roberts (R) placed a temporary hold on them. 

Furthermore, the Trump Organization criminal tax lawsuit is ongoing in Manhattan, with company Controller Jeffrey McConney providing salacious details about how he skirted tax laws on the stand last week.

Although Donald Trump is not himself named as a defendant in the criminal proceedings, he has been facing an onslaught of his own legal problems following the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

The businessman's Mar-a-Lago property in Florida was the subject of a now-infamous Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raid on August 8 and, per Bloomberg, the businessman "invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on Wednesday [August 10] to avoid answering deposition questions in a civil probe of his family real estate business by New York Attorney General Letitia James."

The raid had some Republicans calling for the release of the FBI's affidavit, pressure to which the investigative agency has not succumbed.

Trump recently came under fire for falsely accusing past Presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama of keeping classified documents, as well. 

All of this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Trump family's legal woes right now. Letitia James and her office have officially filed a $250 million civil suit against Trump, and the former President is also the subject of an ongoing 2020 election fraud probe in Georgia.

What do you think about Trump reportedly wanting his political enemies investigated by the IRS?

You Might Also Enjoy:

share this post
Search for matches...
Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

Recommended Professionals

In the face of economic uncertainty, TaxBuzz is the industry's most up-to-date tax information.

Join 60,000 who get our weekly newsletter. No spam.

Need help selecting a firm?

Use our specialized search engine and get matched to the best accounting and tax firm for your needs.

Related Posts

Latest Posts