Former President Donald Trump reportedly told his second White House chief of staff, John Kelly, that he wanted certain persons investigated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
What Happened: Kelly said Trump wanted a probe into former FBI director James Comey and his deputy, Andrew Mc McCabe, according to the New York Times.
The former president reportedly made such demands regularly in response to news reports in which his perceived enemies made him lose face.
See Also: Nancy Pelosi Speaks Out On How Another Trump Presidential Campaign Will Impact The Country
Others that Trump wanted to investigate included former CIA director John Brennan, former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Amazon.com, Inc AMZN Chair Jeff Bezos and FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, according to the report.
Why It Matters: After Kelly’s exit from the administration, in 2019, Comey was informed of an extensive IRS audit of his 2017 returns, while McCabe faced an audit of his 2019 returns, which he came to know in 2021, as per the report.
Kelly reportedly told Trump that what he wanted was potentially illegal and could have repercussions.
A Trump spokesperson denied that Trump ever discussed using the IRS and labeled Kelly a "psycho," according to the Times.
Kelly said he chose to comment because Trump said last week that he used the Justice Department and FBI to help Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis win the gubernatorial elections in 2018.
The former White House official denied Trump ever made such a request and if he did, it would have been an improper use of the two organizations, according to the Times.
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