A Treasury Department watchdog “did not identify misconduct” during its investigation of fired FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe both being selected for a random audit by the IRS.
It was revealed in July that Comey was informed in 2019 he had been picked to have his 2017 tax returns examined by the IRS, according to the New York Times, while McCabe was informed in 2021, when former President Donald Trump was already out of office, that his 2019 returns would be scrutinized by the federal agency.
“At the request of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and representatives from Congress, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration initiated this review to determine if the IRS randomly selected individual tax returns for tax years 2017 and 2019 National Research Program audits,” the watchdog said Thursday.
The watchdog further said IRS officials and an outside contractor “performed a return-by-return comparison between the replicated files and the original sample selection files to verify the files matched” and that “they concluded that the tax returns in the original samples were the same tax returns selected when the process was replicated.”Comey and his wife, Patrice, were found to have overpaid their 2017 federal income taxes and received a $347 refund, according to the report.
“Commissioner Rettig is not involved in individual audits or taxpayer cases; those are handled by career civil servants,” the IRS said in a statement. “As I.R.S. commissioner, he has never been in contact with the White House — in either administration — on IRS enforcement or individual taxpayer matters. He has been committed to running the IRS in an impartial, unbiased manner from top to bottom.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Oddly Timed IRS Audits of Comey, McCabe Were Likely Random: WatchdogThe ex-FBI director and his former deputy were targeted for in-depth audits during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Read more »
Treasury watchdog debunks NY Times suggestion Trump targeted Comey, McCabe with IRS auditsThe New York Times made headlines with its report suggesting former President Trump targeted James Comey and Andrew McCabe through IRS audits, which an IG probe debunked.
Read more »
IRS Audits That Included Comey, McCabe Were Random Selections, Report FindsIRS research audits in 2017 and 2019—the years that FBI leaders James Comey and Andrew McCabe were selected for those intensive exams—were random, according to an inspector general’s report.
Read more »
SEC Fort Worth regional director David Peavler exits watchdog agencyHe worked a combined 19 years with the office that oversees one of the highest concentrations of Fortune 500 companies of any SEC region.
Read more »
Government watchdog finds no misconduct or ‘malicious code’ after IRS selected former FBI officials James Comey and Andrew McCabe for tax auditsThe New York Times reported in July that the former Federal Bureau of Investigation officials were both audited by the IRS.
Read more »
Ted Cruz’s Podcast Deal With iHeartMedia May Violate Ethics Laws, Watchdog Says In New ComplaintiHeartMedia, a registered lobbyist, is providing Cruz's podcast with production and marketing assistance. It also will air Verdict with Ted Cruz on some of its terrestrial radio stations.
Read more »