By Steve Neavling
The head of the IRS asked the Treasury Department’s internal watchdog to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rare, exhaustive and supposedly random audits of former FBI Director James Comey and his then-deputy Andrew McCabe.
The FBI leaders drew the ire of former President Trump before they were selected for the audit.
“The I.R.S. has referred the matter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for review,” the agency said in a statement.
The IRS said its commissioner, Charles P. Rettig, “personally reached out” to the inspector general’s office after the audits came to his attention.
Democrats also called for an internal investigation.
“Donald Trump has no respect for the rule of law, so if he tried to subject his political enemies to additional I.R.S. scrutiny, that would surprise no one. We need to understand what happened here because it raises serious concerns,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said.
