The top lawyer for the IRS, Kenneth Kies, is scheduled to leave his post following reports of clashes with the Trump administration over tax audits.
From MS Now: IRS’ top tax official reportedly ousted after warning of White House interference:
Earlier this week, a federal judge condemned Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit and eventual “settlement” with the IRS as a case brought “in bad faith” — effectively, one filed against his own administration — and designed to “confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President.”
And just days later, there’s reporting on the Trump regime pushing out the top tax official at the Treasury Department. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Kenneth Kies, an assistant treasury secretary and the acting chief counsel of the IRS, was “forced out” after he warned that the White House was at risk of violating a law barring officials from intervening in IRS audits.
Kies at times clashed behind the scenes with White House officials, the people said. That included a recent meeting in which he contended that a potential White House request would violate Section 7217 of the Internal Revenue Code, one of the people said. That law prohibits the president, vice president, White House staff and certain agency heads from directly or indirectly requesting that the IRS conduct or terminate an audit or investigation of any particular taxpayer.
The Journal also included some important historical context:
Violations are punishable with up to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines, and IRS officials have long seen the prohibition as an important shield against the kind of political interference that President Richard Nixon tried to impose on the tax agency.
And Al Jazeera:
Kies had reportedly warned members of the Trump administration against giving orders to the IRS about tax audits.
The Internal Revenue Code prohibits the president, vice president and any executive employees in their offices from requesting that the IRS “conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer”.
It is unclear what, if any, White House request might have spurred the conflict.
But the law is in place to ensure that the president and his allies do not leverage tax audits as a political tool against perceived rivals.
From the administration that continually accuses Democrats of "weaponizing" the government.
