Ulterior Motives? Dr. Ben Carson Believes IRS Audit Tied To His Politics
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The former Johns Hopkins director of pediatric surgery is suspicious of the timing of an IRS audit. Dr. Ben Carson is asking questions.
Pat Warren reports Carson thinks it's tied to his politics.
In a statement, Carson tells WJZ one of the reasons he's suspicious is because people told him it was coming.
Dr. Ben Carson, known for medical miracles, is now known for making waves. It started with an in-your-face criticism of the president's policies at a national prayer breakfast this year.
"People are not used to hearing things that make sense come out of Washington. And so somebody actually gets up and says something that makes sense and people start hyperventilating," Carson said in February.
Whether it's because he said it with the president sitting right there, the media fallout or coincidence, he was audited. The suggestion that the IRS uses its power to influence politics seems farfetched, but then we see IRS employees in a Star Trek spoof--part of a $4 million employee training conference.
"It was a difficult money trail to follow, but in the end we got it," the spoof said.
And then came the admission that group requests for tax exempt status were red flagged and sidelined for their politics.
"It has to start with a recognition that the trust has been violated," said Daniel Werfel in a congressional hearing.
In a statement to WJZ, Dr. Carson says:
"When you have a government agency involved in activities that are partisan in nature, it calls into question all of their actions. If they were auditing me in a situation where there was no question about their integrity, this would be ignored."
This February interview may have summed it up:
"The best thing they can possibly do is stop trying to interfere with everybody's life," Carson said.
Because of government furloughs, no one from the IRS is available to comment.
Keep in mind, any motive for any audit is hard to prove.
Carson has also spoken about the audit on Fox News Channel.
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