Bennet, Wyden, Senate Democrats Call for Independent Investigation Into Political Interference in IRS Audits Following Departure of Top Trump Tax Official

Jul 24, 2026 | Press Releases

Denver - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Oversight, joined U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and 11 members of the Finance Committee to call on independent investigators at the Treasury Department to open an investigation into whether Trump Administration officials are violating federal laws that prohibit political influence over federal tax audits. The inquiry comes after a top official at the Treasury Department and the IRS was reportedly forced out of his position after raising similar concerns.

"We write to request an investigation into alarming reports about White House officials potentially violating a federal law prohibiting senior officials from influencing federal tax audits, including reports that a top official serving the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was forced out of the administration after raising concerns about those potential violations," wrote the senators. "If recent reporting is accurate and Mr. Kies did in fact advise White House officials of such risks, it is gravely concerning that this administration chose not only to ignore the IRS' top legal advisor, but to fire him for attempting to follow the law and protect taxpayers."

Democrats, including Bennet, have been sounding the alarm on Trump's attempts to use the IRS as an extension of his Administration to aid himself and his allies while punishing enemies. In June, Bennet led a letter with Democratic members of the Taxation and IRS Oversight Subcommittee to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano demanding answers on the settlement addendum reached with President Trump that prevents the Department of Justice from bringing any action or pursuing any tax audit into previous returns filed by Trump, his family members, or affiliated companies. Earlier in the summer, Bennet joined his Democratic colleagues on Senate Finance in calling for a bipartisan committee investigation into Trump's audit immunity deal as well as the nearly $1.8 billion slush fund.

In addition to Bennet, Wyden, and Schumer, U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt) signed the letter.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Acting Inspector General Hill:

We write to request an investigation into alarming reports about White House officials potentially violating a federal law prohibiting senior officials from influencing federal tax audits, including reports that a top official serving the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was forced out of the administration after raising concerns about those potential violations. As you know, violations of this law, intended to keep the audit process free of political interference, are punishable by civil and criminal penalties, including up to five years in prison.

On July 16, 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kenneth Kies was forced out of his posts as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy and Acting Chief Counsel of the IRS after clashing with political officials over a White House request that may have violated § 7217 of the Internal Revenue Code. As you know, § 7217 prohibits senior administration officials from requesting, directly or indirectly, that the IRS "conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer." Section 7217 also requires IRS personnel to report receiving such prohibited requests to TIGTA - IRS personnel who willfully fail to report prohibited requests are subject to the same penalties as officials who make such requests, including an up to $5,000 fine and up to five years imprisonment. As an acting IRS official, Mr. Kies had an obligation to report the White House request(s) to TIGTA if, as recent reporting suggests, he believed the request(s) violated § 7217.

Congress enacted § 7217 on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis in the 1990s, following revelations that President Nixon had attempted to weaponize the IRS by requesting audits of his political enemies, as well as by discouraging audits of his political allies. Nonpartisan enforcement is a fundamental principle in the administration of federal tax law, which Congress explicitly sought to protect with the guardrails imposed by § 7217. These guardrails are critical to prevent public officials from abusing (or threatening to abuse) the IRS' tax enforcement authority to quash political opposition or reward political favors. Any potential violation of these guardrails demands a full investigation.

As the IRS' Acting Chief Counsel, Mr. Kies was the chief advisor to the IRS on all legal matters, including matters pertaining to § 7217, and was better suited than anyone else in the administration to advise as to whether a particular request or set of requests risked violating the law. If recent reporting is accurate and Mr. Kies did in fact advise White House officials of such risks, it is gravely concerning that this administration chose not only to ignore the IRS' top legal advisor, but to fire him for attempting to follow the law and protect taxpayers.

In light of this reporting, we request that TIGTA conduct a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Kies' departure from Treasury and the IRS, including any potential violations of § 7217, and provide a full report to Congress on the outcome of said investigation. Such report should include, among other findings, responses to the following questions:

• Which person(s) initiated contact with an IRS officer or employee (including Mr. Kies and any other Treasury officials performing IRS duties) and made requests about audits that Mr. Kies believed may violate § 7217?
  • Did the President or any employee of the Executive Office of the President directly or indirectly request this contact?
  • Did the Vice President or any employee of the Executive Office of the Vice President directly or indirectly request this contact?
  • Did any individual serving in a position specified in Section 5321 of Title V, U.S.C. directly or indirectly request this contact?
  • Which IRS officers or employees (including Mr. Kies and any other Treasury officials performing IRS duties) received this contact?

• Did the scope or direction of any audits change after Executive communication to Mr. Kies or others at the IRS (including Treasury officials performing IRS duties)?
• Were any audits opened or closed after Executive communication to Mr. Kies or others at the IRS (including Treasury officials performing IRS duties)? If so, how many taxpayers were implicated?
• Was Mr. Kies' departure from Treasury and the IRS retaliation for attempting to uphold federal law? If not, what was the justification for his removal?
• Was Mr. Kies' departure from the Treasury and the IRS voluntary? If not, who ordered his termination?
• Did the administration fail to preserve any emails, memos, and other communications between the White House, Treasury, and IRS during the timeline in question? If so, was this failure willful?
• Please also identify any evidence of any additional requests which may have violated § 7217 related to matters to which Mr. Kies was recused or otherwise not consulted that were not reported to TIGTA.
• Please provide a list of additional violations of § 7217 that have been reported to TIGTA as required under § 7217(b) since January 2025.

We also request answers to the following urgent questions by July 29, 2026:

• Did TIGTA receive a report from Mr. Kies regarding any request(s) that may have
• violated § 7217?
  • If not, has TIGTA opened an investigation into whether Mr. Kies failed to report request(s) that violated § 7217?
• Similarly, has TIGTA opened an investigation into whether White House officials violated § 7217 by attempting to improperly influence IRS audits?
  • In the course of such an investigation, will TIGTA take steps to preserve all emails, memos, and other communications between the White House, Treasury, and IRS during the timeline in question?

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