Former FBI director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe, two of Donald Trump’s foes, were subjected to rare, random IRS audits, according to a report.

In 2017, the IRS picked about 5,000 individuals who would undergo the audit out of 153 million taxpayers who filed for returns that year, according to the New York Times report.

The names included Comey, who was fired as FBI director in 2017 by then-president Trump over the bureau’s probe into Trump’s ties to Russia.

McCabe – who was the deputy to Comey before he took the role of acting FBI director after his firing, went through the same type of audit. He was among the 8,000 returns subjected to the audit out of the 154 individual million returns filed that year — or about one in 19,250. His dismissal came following a string of public spats by the former president, who accused him of corruption.

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According to notices sent by the IRS, Comey was made aware in 2019 that his 2017 return, which was filed jointly with his spouse, would be audited. McCabe was informed about his audit in 2021 for his 2019 return, which was also filed jointly with his spouse.

“The results of this and other compliance research examinations will improve our efforts to help taxpayers understand and follow the tax law,” the letters read, according to the New York Times. “It will also reduce unnecessary and costly examinations, and reduce burden on taxpayers.”

Both Comey and McCabe’s names appearing for the invasive audit appears to be an extraordinary instance as they two were Trump’s foes. The question remains that was it just sheer coincidence that two close associates would randomly come under the scrutiny of the same audit program within two years of each other?

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The New York Times also raises questions that if not mere coincident, could the audits have been connected to criminal investigations pursued by the Trump Justice Department against both men. None of them were charged. 

“Lightning strikes, and that’s unusual, and that’s what it’s like being picked for one of these audits,” John A. Koskinen, the I.R.S. commissioner from 2013 to 2017 said. “The question is: Does lightning then strike again in the same area? Does it happen? Some people may see that in their lives, but most will not — so you don’t need to be an anti-Trumper to look at this and think it’s suspicious.”

In a statement, the IRS said that the agency’s commissioner Charles P. Rettig, who was appointed to the post by Trump in 2018, had no role in selecting candidates for audit.

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“Commissioner Rettig is not involved in individual audits or taxpayer cases; those are handled by career civil servants,” the statement said. “As I.R.S. commissioner, he has never been in contact with the White House — in either administration — on I.R.S. enforcement or individual taxpayer matters. He has been committed to running the I.R.S. in an impartial, unbiased manner from top to bottom.”

Asked about the audits, Trump through a spokeswoman, said, “I have no knowledge of this.” 

After a year of audit in Comey’s case, it was found that he and his wife, Patrice Comey, had overpaid their 2017 federal income taxes for which they received a $347 refund.

“I don’t know whether anything improper happened, but after learning how unusual this audit was and how badly Trump wanted to hurt me during that time, it made sense to try to figure it out,” Comey said in a statement. “Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe somebody misused the I.R.S. to get at a political enemy. Given the role Trump wants to continue to play in our country, we should know the answer to that question.”