The IRS has asked the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to look into how former FBI Director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew G. McCabe, were both subjected to intensive audits that are meant to be random and rare, the New York Times reported. 

In a written statement, the IRS said that it “has referred the matter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for review,” adding that IRS Commissioner, Charles P. Rettig had “personally reached out” to the inspector general after learning about the audits. 

The referral to TIGTA came a day after the Times reported that both former FBI officials were subjected to exhaustive audits, which usually target just a few thousand taxpayers a year. Comey was audited for tax year 2017, when the IRS  says it randomly selected about 5,000 returns for the audit out of the 153 million that were filed that year. McCabe was audited for tax year 2019, when the agency says its picked about 8,000 returns out of the roughly 154 million that were filed. Both men were perceived enemies of former President Donald J. Trump. 

Trump has denied any knowledge of the audits, and the IRS has denied that any wrongdoing occurred. 

The Times quoted Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, who, said that Rettig had reached out to tell him that he had asked the inspector general to investigate the matter and “to reiterate that any allegations of wrongdoing are taken seriously and are referred to the IG for further review.” He added, “Donald Trump has no respect for the rule of law, so if he tried to subject his political enemies to additional IRS scrutiny, that would surprise no one. … We need to understand what happened here because it raises serious concerns.” 

Wyden also said, “A thorough IG investigation of this matter is crucial, and we’re going to look at what steps the Finance Committee could potentially take.”