Just months after he gave a speech earlier this year that challenged America’s leadership in President Obama’s presence, Dr. Ben Carson was targeted by IRS agents who requested to review his real estate holdings and then conducted a full audit without finding any wrongdoing.
“I guess it could be a coincidence, but I never had been audited before and never really had any encounters with the IRS,” Dr. Carson said in an interview Thursday with The Washington Times. “But it certainly would make one suspicious because we know now the IRS has been used for political purposes and therefore actions like this come under suspicion.”
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Dr. Carson told The Times that IRS agents contacted him in June — less than four months after the speech — and requested to review his real estate holdings. After finding nothing that concerned them, the agents then informed him they were conducting a full audit of his finances, and then asked to go back an additional year to review his records, he said.
They finally ended the review in August after finding no problems, Dr. Carson said.
“They told me everything was in good standing and left,” he said.
Asked whether he thought the audit was a retaliation for his speech, Dr. Carson quipped: “I guess I’m surprised it took them that long.”
He said the more serious issue is that the IRS has been politicized — “something that should never have happened” — and that leaves all of its activities open to suspicion.
A call seeking comment from the IRS Thursday morning went unanswered. The agency has furloughed more than 90 percent of its staffers during the government shutdown...
