Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified former White House chief of staff John Kelly.
Former President Trump requested Internal Revenue Service (IRS) probes of two former top FBI officials, his former chief of staff John Kelly told the New York Times.
Kelly told the Times that Trump repeatedly pressed for IRS investigations of his perceived enemies and asked to “get the I.R.S. on” former FBI Director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe, who became acting director after Trump fired Comey.
Kelly said he dissuaded Trump from continuing to press the investigations due to legal and ethical concerns.
However, reports surfaced earlier this year that the IRS had conducted intensive audits of both Comey and McCabe.
The tax collection agency insisted the audits were randomly conducted free from political pressure. Trump appointee Charles Rettig ran the IRS during both audits.
“Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe somebody misused the IRS to get at a political enemy,” Comey told the Times earlier this year. “Given the role Trump wants to continue to play in our country, we should know the answer to that question.”
Trump was critical of both Comey and McCabe at multiple points throughout his presidency, particularly for their part in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump fired Comey in May of 2017 and offered shifting defenses for the move.
According to the Times, Trump also floated wielding the DOJ and IRS on Jeff Bezos, Hillary Clinton and former CIA director John Brennan.
The Hill has reached out to Trump’s team for comment.
–Updated on Nov. 14 at 7:52 a.m.