from the wealthy? >> well, irs does attempt to balance audit rates across different types of taxpayers, across different income categories with the earned income tax credit as some of mentioned, it is a very successful program. but it is plagued by very high in proper payment rates which many are concerned that, as an improper payment rate of roughly 25% of the most recent fiscal year, that resulted in approximately $19 million in improper payments. the one tool that the irs has to ensure compliance with the program's audits. there is no source of third-party information to help verify eligibility for the program. so, the one tool we have is to conduct audits. i would point out, however, that a lot of folks who claim the earned income tax credit have roughly about half of all claimants, do use a pay tax prepare. and g. a. o. has recommended back in 2014, that the congress should give irs the authority to oversee and regulate and put in place, you know, things such as competency testing and education requirements fo

, needing further irs action. at the same time, irs phone service levels are near all-time lows. making it nearly impossible to reach an irs agent for help with tax or audit matters. many taxpayers have been waiting for resolution to their tax filings and to receive long overdue refunds. this is unfair and it needs to be fixed. i know we will hear from at least one of our witnesses about audit rates and the earned income tax credit mister chairman, we've encountered at least for -- leadership. that have touched on this audit rate issue. and while it is perfectly fine topic, a seventh hearing on this issue doesn't seem designed to make progress toward a solution. the g.a.o. report indicates what we already know, there are real administrative issues around the earned income tax credit. the program has an annual improper payment rate of around 25%. it's not just the irs that's been telling us this. the states as well. in the last fiscal year, the improper payment amount on the earned income tax credit totaled 19 billion dol

to the irs. a technical means 15 months to get through this audit, it cost him $5,000 in accounting fees. they needed an accountant to go back and forth with the irs agent who was doing the audit. >> the interesting thing about these audits is you can't really say, you are the irs, you know that i have kids, why don't you handle that? when they ask you for information, you actually have to provide it. the odds of getting selected for one of these random audits is about one in 30,000 and a little bit, according to your article. the odds that both of these men, who have the same position, back to back, in the same administration, both seen as political enemies of the president in charge, and the irs headed by a man that that president appointed, it just makes it seem less than random. >> we actually don't lay out in the story, what the odds are. we don't know how the irs actually randomly selects these people. whether it is weighted in a way, all we know is that the irs says that they are trying to

both of them ended up intensively audited by the irs. you might be thinking, i've been audited, is not that crazy. but this particular type of audit is different. according to the u new york times, tax lawyers refer to this invasive audit as a, quote, autopsy without the benefit of death. the odds of being selected for that audit in any given year are roughly one out of 30,600. in the end, these audits did not find anything. mccabe told the new york times but they owed the government a small amount of money, which they paid. and comey over paid their taxes, leading to a 350-dollar refund. the audit themselves cost the comey's $5,000 in accounting fees. he had to turn over all of his personal information, bank statements, a copy of his thanks christmas card that he had the children that he claimed as dependents. how did two of president trump's top perceived enemies and of facing that kind of an audit? the kind of audit that seems designed to dig up any possible dirt. how does that happen? a spokesperson for president trump said he had, qu

to run the irs. there is a history here. because an audit is so awful, because that data is so private and it's such a powerful tool to abuse it. >> to the point of how invasive it is this took the, call me on it took 15 months. they had to pay their accountant $5,000. there was the agent that worked on at the did over 50 hours of work. comey had to prove to the irs that he actually had the children that he claimed as dependents, and i had to do that by showing the picture a family picture that was in included in the family christmas car to show that he actually had children that he said he did. so we have to go to great lengths to financial yet,, before they were looking from a potential cartridge he bought two years earlier. so that gives you a flavor of how invasive and unusual this audit is. >> yeah and in the and he ended up having the irs owe him some money, right? he had overpaid on his taxes. it was at the end result? i remember correctly. >> for people who have watched jim comey he said it was sort of the ultimate ji

because they had to have an accountant that was going back and forth with the irs agent who was doing the audit. >> and the interesting thing about these audits is you can't sort of just say hey, you're the irs, you know i have kids why, don't you handle that. when they ask you for information, you actually have to provide it. the odds of getting selected for one of these random audits is one in 30,000 and a little bit according to your article. the odds that both of these men who have the same position, back-to-back, in the same administration, both scene as political enemies of the president in charge, and the irs headed by a man that president appointed, just makes it seem less than random. >> so we actually don't in the story lay out what the odds are. we don't know how the irs actually randomly selects these people, whether it's weighted in a way, all we know is that the irs say they're trying to get a full picture of what the country looks like, they're trying to get people that are w-2 employees, people that maybe making millions of dollars a year, people that may be at the low

. >>> controversy at the irs. growing questions about whether the agency targeted former fbi officials seen as enemies of former president trump. the new investigation. >>> the new policy in texas. the governor now ordering state troopers to apprehend migrants and send them back to the border. >>> plus, the passenger plane that flew for hours with a massive hole in its side. >>> and later the homeowner -- >> i'm going to open this, and you just scurry right out there. >> -- versus the chipmunk. >>> good friday morning, everyone. i'm mona kosar abdi. >> i'm andrea fujii in for andrew. >>> we begin with breaking news. japanese broadcaster nhk is reporting that former prime minister shinzo abe has died after being shot in broad daylight during a campaign speech. >> the shocking attack happening in japan, a nation with virtually no gun violence. abe's death was announced moments ago on national tv in japan. >> the gunman was taken into custody as authorities try to determine a motive. this morning, shinzo abe, the form

now the irs has asked the treasury department's inspector general to investigate.this, we are joined by another trump target. former fbi counterintelligence agent, peter strzok. peter, good morning. always a pleasure to have you here. andrew mccabe said that he only learned that jim comey was also be not adaptive being contacted by the time. so let's take a quick listen. >> i had no idea until the reporter from the times for judge to me. it was a bit of a shock i, have to tell you. it was discouraging, really. for me, this is the latest in what has been a long saga of being targeted by the former administration. >> peter, this audit story, may have become another chapter in this saga of how the trump administration worked to destroy america's faith and its institutions and to cripple our trust in the government? >> well katie, it's really sad that we have to be asking that question with a great deal of curiosity about whether or not a fact that happens. these are, as you pointed out, extraordinarily rare. well there is a chance that at the director comey or mccabe

it is far out of the normal experience of the irs. and this annual review they do to test the compliance of the tax system and the noncompliance of the tax system. the audits that are selected are selected by a separate division. they're selected randomly, they're designed to randomly audit taxpayers across the entire spectrum including companies. so on the one hand, it is a very carefully managed process, and reviewed, and i got a lot of confidence in the irs employees, it is a great workforce that i had the privilege of working with for four years, on the other hand, as mr. mccabe says, it is odd at least to see two head of the former head of the fbi and his deputy under great attack to show up in randomly selected audits. they're up to usually about 13,000 audits a year, over a three-year period, to determine the tax gap. and that 13,000 a year is out of 150 million individual taxpayers and over 200 million total returns. so it is, i think, from the standpoint of the irs important for the inspector general, someone to take a look at

the irs became the centerpiece of one of the articles of impeachment against him.w, the new york times revealed that former fbi director james comey, and the agency's former acting director andrew mccabe, were both picked for extremely rare and invasive tax audits. in 2017 at 153 million people who filed tax materials to the irs, just 5000 were selected for this random audit. one of them happened to be comey. in 2019, mccabe was just one of 8000 americans audited. according to the new york times, a spokesperson for donald trump said he had no knowledge of the audits. but the times also writes, quote, the miniscule chances at the two highest ranking fbi officials who made some of the most politically consequential law enforcement decisions in the generation, being randomly subjected to a detailed scrap of their taxes, presents an extraordinary question. and i might add, to high-ranking fbi officials who had a hand and investigating donald trump. two men who probably, definitely, were high up on trump's list of enemies. it's a long list indeed. as msnbc steve bannon

. >>> new tonight, the most intensive random audit the irs does. so, what are the odds that not one but two former president trump's perceived political enemies would be targeted? andrew mccabe is one of them. he is here, next. lemons. lemons, lemons, lemons. look how nice they are. the moment you become an expedia member, you can instantly start saving on your travels. so you can go and see all those, lovely, lemony, lemons. ♪ and never wonder if you got a good deal. because you did. ♪ you know liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need? like how i customized this scarf? check out this backpack i made for marco. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ >>> listen to this. we're learning that two people, who were constantly targeted by former president trump, so happened to face the most intensive, random audits the irs does. one of them, former fbi deputy director, andrew mccabe, who is my guest tonight. the other, according to "the new york times," former fbi director james comey. that

the irs is no stranger to political scandals. the nixon white house was accused of pressuring the then irs commissioner to target his enemies with tax audit during the time of the watergate scandal. >> one of the ways he abused presidential power was to to the irs i want you to do big, intrusive, bruising audits on my political enemies. >> reporter: a trump spokesman told the new york times that he had no knowledge of those audits. they have referred the matter to the treasury for review. >> thank you. >>> a texas woman accused of murdering a pro cyclist ran away to costa rica, change the way she looked, try to start a new life. they say that caitlin armstrong is now facing murder charges. she is in jail in texas on $3.5 million bond. at the news conference today, a deputy u.s. marshal said she went by three different aliases during a 43 day run. he said she confessed her true identity after her arrest. >> armstrong altered her physical appearance. she died her hair brown and cropped it short to about shoulderlength. she had a ban

>> you know, nobody likes to get a letter from the irs saying they're being audited. ea that jim comey had been subjected to the same audit. i didn't know that until the reporter who wrote the story contacted me, kind of out of the blue. we got the letter, i think, in october of 2021. and so the letter says, you know, on its face, you've been randomly selected for this research program that is designed to, you know, give the irs information about how people are meeting their tax obligations. so i just took it at face value and assumed it was actually random, it wasn't until i found out about jim comey's audit that i started wondering this can't possibly be random that the both of us were selected. >> the timing is very curious. in the case of comey, it -- he was told in 2019 it was going to be his 2017 tax return. and 2017 he had a big book deal, 2019 it turned out that bill barr, you know, wasn't going to pursue what trump wanted him to. similarly you had just been able to breathe a sigh of relief because your personnel record had been cleansed, your pension had been

and i just, i took the irs at their word and i just assumed it was right. will say that my wife was suspicious from the beginning, and had a few choice words for me about it and of course i should have listened to her because it looks like maybe there was something else going on. >> i will be on her side naturally. of course you listen to your wife. thinking about the idea, you trusted the fact that if you got this audit, everything was on the up and up but i'm curious, about this kind of ordeal. what was this audit like , and dare i ask, what was the outcome. you didn't even know if this was the correlation here. what was the process like? >> i had no idea. no idea about jim comey situation until i was contacted by this reporter but, i was immediately, i got in touch with the person who they said i should call and it began. it's an incredibly rigorous process. although i have to say, the woman i dealt with, who had responsibility in my case was very professional and responsive. we ultimately worked through it and i ended up having to pay a small amount for

the irs putting that out today. to find out whether that investigation will be opened or has been opened, and we haven't heard back. i think at the most basic level about this story and what went on is that it's a lesson, again, in the concept of why a president of the united states should not weigh in on certain questions. so, biden made one remark many, you know, several months ago about a matter related to the january 6th investigations and some things that should people be prosecuted or not, and he was widely criticized for that. trump did this every day and in lots of different ways about a lot of different issues. at the same time, he tried to use the arms of the federal government in ways that we couldn't even have made up coming into the administration if we were trying to brainstorm what you could do. he also tried to use the federal government and, you know, the political -- his political apparatus around the country to overturn an election. when you have a president who did that, and their political appoin

comey had to send the irs a christmas card to prove how many children he had. gan in 2021, months after trump left office. mccabe reacted to the reporting. >> we were talking about a coincidence that really is almost impossible statistically. it wasn't until i found out about jim comey's audit that i started wondering that this can't possibly be random. >> joining us now is chuck rosenberg, a former senior fbi official and u.s. attorney, and peter baker and former rnc chairman michael steele. chuck, i don't know if you have had that kind of intensive audit. they say it's very rare. for these two men, both of whom have the same job and both were on trump's enemy list, to both be audited is a one in 82 million probability, according to "the new york times." what say you? >> well, i haven't had the pleasure of an irs audit. perhaps something to look forward to, andrea. the statistics tell you that this is highly, highly unusual. the statistics don't tell you that it's improper. michael steele could win the lottery. it's extremely unlikely he will do that. he could

that is the responsible thing for the irs to do in these circumstances. ad of the agency made the referral and it looks like they are going to take it up. the question is, will they do it quickly and thoroughly? and more important lee, will they make those results public? i think the answer should be yes to all of these things but we will see. i was discouraged to hear their comments about it last night to declare it ludicrous without even looking into it as a pretty prophetic act of prejudging the entire issue so is good to see that it will actually get investigated. >> as a former federal investigator have to ask what is your level of suspicion that something happened that wasn't by the book? >> you know, when i received the notice back in october of 2021, i accepted it at its face. i took the irs for their word that it is an entirely random process that people are selected . there is nothing that trips this sort of audit, but, honestly, as an investigator, i don't like to make conclusions about things i don't know. i like to focus on the things we do kn

could that have happened here with the irs? it is absolutely a possibility that needs to be looked into. >> the white house would not say on thursday if president biden maintains confidence in the irs commissioner, he has been serving since 2018, are you confident that he is doing what needs to be done? >> i was discouraged by their initial reaction, the statements from the irs referring to the whole thing as ludicrous, which obviously, it is not ludicrous, but they did make the right referral, the ig is now, has got the matter for investigation so let's wait and see how they handle that. >> do you have any message for the people that are investigating this? any potential prosecution that you would like to see if there is one? >> i just feel like we need to understand completely and thoroughly what happened here. i have no doubt that the irs is populated almost entirely you know, by loyal patriotic dedicated men and women, who are , who have taken an oath to support and defend the constitution and do their jobs well every day. c

and many criminals are posing as the irs. jill shlessinger now with the best way to protect yourself. >> the irs is warning that once again scam artists are posing as the tax agency to rip off americans. millions of people have received fake emails or texts that appear to be from the irs. they're promising a tax refund or a stimulus payment if you just click on a link. the criminals are trying to get personal information or they claim that the victim has to pay a fee before the fake refund can be sent. con-artists are also trying to scare people into paying up with calls like this one. >> we're reaching you to inform you that irs is filing a lawsuit against you. >> it is important to know that the irs does not demand payment or ask for credit or debit card information over the phone. also agents will not reach out to you through text or social media. it is not just older americans falling for this scam and others, the federal trade commission said 41% of people who lost money last year were in their 20s. to report a fraud or s

the irs says it's referred it to the inspector general for review. the only issue around abuse of power. take republican senator lindsey graham who has tried to help trump every which way. he's just been hit with a subpoena over his conduct in an election in a state he doesn't live in. this is georgia. this is when he was chair of the judiciary committee, and to defend his actions, graham now says this was done, quote, as chairman of the senate judiciary committee, and thus he was within his rights. i just want to stop right there and say, that is a wild and bizarre admission. it would be one thing for someone who is both in power and a candidate or involved in a campaign to say, as part a that campaign they were just calling up and trying to advocate to win, which can be done during and after the election. bush v. gore. you have all that jockeying. but here lindsey graham admits he was trying to help trump as chair of the judiciary committee, which would appear to be wrong and an abuse of power for political ends, which is why this is broader than t

schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ this week, the head of the irs as thehdog to investigate rare audits, former fbi director james comey and his deputy andrew mccabe faced during the trump administration. these weren't just any audits by any means, in fact they're seen as the most invasive type of random audit that the irs can taking out in fact the chance of being selected for them is nearly one in 31,000. the new york times reports the tax lawyers called these audits, an autopsy without the benefit of death. so, was just a coincidence, or targeted attack on two former officials the trump publicly attacks. my sunday night panel is back with me again. matthew, your thoughts on this, this is supposedly a random audit if i got to say the top two officials of the fbi being taught targeted by trump's iris to be more specific, seems kind of random we. >> we'll find out the truth is here, but i don't think anybody on this panel would be surprised if you said that donald trump investigated his enemies -- use the irs to investigate his enemies. none of us would be

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their questions on whether trump used the irs against those two. , the way the law works in the united states is irs audits are randomly selected, completely and utterly randomly selected so the odds of getting one are about one and 30,000, that's according to the new york times. you have comey and mccabe, both of the fbi guys getting one. here's what mccabe said about this. >> address defies logic to think that there wasn't some other factor involved here. i think that's a reasonable question . >> so caras is out front and you been reporting on this, as one former irs commissioner said, lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, so, what more are you learning about these audits and the inspector general investigation? we learned the irs commissioner a trump appointee, made this referral yesterday after they were contacted by the new york times with these details about these unusual audits into these two figures, who were critics of trump and who trump was critical of. so the inspector general's office has not returned our request for comment

so i have great confidence in the irs workforce. they're all career employees. f counsel are political appointees. and they all know billion that it's a criminal violation just to look at another taxpayer return if you're not authorized, let alone to do anything with it. so i think it's important, as i've said all along, for the inspector general to take a look at this, to report to the irs and to the public what actually happened, and that should be a fairly straightforward review because there are great and numerous controls around the process to make sure that something like this doesn't happen. and i think, as i've thought about it in my four years as commissioner in the last few days, it would be almost impossible to manimagine how yo could pull this off without some career employees noting and raising their hands and saying something's wrong here. >> well, i mean, it is really remarkable, especially for two lifelong public servants who don't bring in the kind of income that typically seems to generate an irs audit. so many more questions we'll have to answe

andy mccabe was on cnn breaking the new that is the irs made the referral.ad to say. >> that's the responsible thing for the irs to do under these circumstances. i'm glad that the head of the agency made the referral and looks like the ig will take it up. the question is will they do it quickly, thoroughly and make the results public? the answer should be yes to all those things but we'll see. >> we are also hearing bipartisan support for this review. democratic chair of the house means and waying committee and the ranking republican member support it and want to get to the bottom there's an agenda. they have strong safeguards in place to protect politically motivated audits and untrue to suggest that senior irs officials targeted specific individuals for the national research program audits. a lot of questions here to see what happens. >> how long will the review take? >> the inspector general could take as long or short as he wants. it is unclear how soon to get an answer and to become public. >> did they know that they were both being targeted? >> mccabe

do they know this door is locked >>> the irs calling for a watchdog investigation. r new york times reports for fbi officials faced rare and rigorous audits of the finances. pete, what are you watching for? >> the irs says it was the commissioner virus who personally asked for the investigation by the treasury department inspector general for tax administration. the irs said earlier in response to the new york times story said the decision on the audit is made by career people, not political people. the irs says it's ludicrous and untrue to suggest that senior irs officials somehow targeted specific individuals for these very intensive audits. for me's taxes in 2017 and 2019, these are very rarely done. one out of every something like 19,000 taxpayers. so the idea the both the director and then the man who followed him as acting director of the fbi during the time donald trump was under investigation would both be audited seemed like something of an astonishing coincidence at the very least. in any event the irs now says there will be an inspector general instigation

she is old because the irs think she is dead. ado has her story. >> jeanette carpenter is very much alive. but according to the government, she's not my social security number belongs to a deceased person. when jeanette filed her 2020 taxes, her account received an unusual notice. back, jeanette. social security number belong to someone who is deceased. ickes them. >> i said, are you sure you're not giving me confused with my husband that passed away in 2009? >> in the senate now her account refiled twice more and got the same response. yes, social security number belongs to a deceased person. i said i'm not the seas and what baffles me is our for the government. >> so do not want your local irs office and refiled again in person and this time on paper, she says she was told everything looked good and should have a return in 6 to 12 weeks. she's still waiting. this was in july. >> of last year. i can artist. i mean a lot throughout the year in april, she tried her luck with the social security administration and received an offici

>> guest: the irs administered the earned income tax credit program and they admit to one out of every four dollars in that program goes out the door on a mistaken or improper basis. that total number every single year is $18 billion. >> host: and so then would you say and proper basis how was it done, just into the wrong address, for someone who is not living anymore, how does it work? >> guest: most of those payments go toos people are unqualified for the broker. over the years we reached out to the irs into a spokesman at said you can tell us the number, $18 billion is a big number. why don't you put controls in place, basic accounting controls in place to prevent the mistaken and improper payments? they said we would need a bigger budget to do that. they can tell us there's 18 billion goinge out the door mistakenly and improperly paid but they can't stop it. there's no club act, patron our guest with us taking a look at spin it would ask him questions it is? >> guest: -- 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8001 republicans. >> translator: and independents and you can text is a 202-

now, concerns that the trump administration may have weaponnized the irs. mps foes were the subjects of intensive and extremely rare tax audits. the "times" put the probability of their 2016 and 2019 tax reforms respectfully being chosen at one in 82 million. yikes. given the growing scrutiny the irs commissioner asked the treasure department inspector general to conduct the review. in a statement the irs denies there were any quote politically motivated audits and called the idea untrue. >> thank you for being with us tonight. i think all of us have many, many, many questions about this. andrew mccabe responded to it. i want to show you what he had to say and get your reaction, take a look. >> it is not ludicrous, americans need to know they are conducting their responsibilities in a fair manner and it may not be happening. >> do you think it is ludicrous, there might be something foul afoot here? >> normally, just two people who live inside the same neighborhood or worked at the same company we would not be having these conversations. but the fact that bot

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just that the senior irs official somehow targeted specific individuals for national research m audits. let's talk about the reporting that you have though, about the likelihood of that even happening. statistically when you look at things, what do you make of it? is it some strange coincidence, or is it something else? >> yeah i mean, i think the important thing from the statement you just read is that word specific. so what we are doing here is we are sort of after the fact going back and trying to assess how likely is it that these two particular individuals would be picked up for audits. the answer to that is it is microscopically unlikely. the odds that, if you set out to pick mccabe and kony as getting audits, the odds are really really really low. but the new york times also had a piece by their upshot group which does a lot of graph analysis, which pointed out that there are a lot of people who are targeted by donald trump. there are a lot of people who hurt you know we're disliked by trump and weren't targeted by audits. so you think about it as a pool of 700 people ou

he did it with the irs commissioner. he also had larry o'brien, the chairman of the democratic national committee audited. there's a very specific way to get to this, and that's looking at all the documentation relating to the audit, trying to figure out who touched the returns, who asked for the audit, how did it originate. irs has very specific documents that one has to fill out before they do anything on this kind of investigation. and that should -- the question is will that lead right back to the white house. >> charles p. red dig whose term expires in november, he was basically allowed by the current president to stay in until his term expired, it is just to be clear, nick ackerman, a crime for anyone at the irs to call for the audit of any individual person, right? >> no question about it, absolutely a crime. we did not have enough evidence to actually prosecute anybody for that crime, but it's a fairly easy crime to investigate, and i'm sure as a result of this article that came out in the times tonight that some

it's a bit coincidence, we'll tell you what the trump appointed head of the irs says about it next. you what the trum when you have technology that's easier to control... that can scale across all your clouds... appointed head of the ir so you can do more incredible things. [whistling] s in one easy appointment... >> tech: when you have auto glass damage, itrust safelite.s. ♪ pop rock music ♪ >> tech: ...we can replace your windshield and recalibrate your advanced safety system. >> dad: looks great. thanks. >> tech: stay safe with safelite. schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ about it next. the internal revenue services were exhaust the tax audits of two of trump's foes are now heading to an internal watchdog for review. it's up to the treasury department's inspector general to investigate whether trump's opinions of former fbi director james comey and his deputy are pleading to the irs's decision -- >> comey was very unpopular with most people. he's a show about, he's a grandstander. why didn't call me complain? why didn't mueller investigate comey? >> y

the irs wanted a receipt from a printer toner he had bought two years earlier. he couldn't find the receipt, they were trying to find an american express card statement that could have shown that. it's that type of audit, that type of invasiveness that goes on here. for the comeys, it took them 15 months to go through the audit. it cost them $5,000 in accounting fees, something comey could afford. i'm not sure many americans could afford $5,000 in accounting fees. and in the end, they figured out that comey had overpaid on his taxes. he got a $340 something dollar refund. >> michael schmidt, thank you so much for your reporting. we'll be reading it in "the new york times.". >>> breaking news. the bbc is saying boris johnson is going to resign. >> wow. >> 12:30 london time. that is going to be in 6 minutes. we'll be right back with breaking news of that announcement when "morning joe" returns. when "morning joe" returns. >>> welcome back to "morning joe." breaking news from 10 downing street. boris johnson is going to step out, and according to the bbc, will be a

electors scheme was an action, but all the way up to and including the time that finally worked at the ire and see. >> also this week, jill, the senate rules committee. holding the first -- electoral count act. explain to us how changing that law could help prevent another january 6th. >> it's very complicated, unfortunately. but under the current law, some of the things that were it tempted might have worked and might have been legal. and so, the changes that are necessary are to prevent that from happening. and needs to be clear that states need to appoint electors who reflect the vote of the people in the state. not of the legislators in the state. that's where the problem comes in. it's that the legislators can say, well, we don't really care what you voted for, we don't like that. we're gonna claim fraud and we're gonna point other people. so i think the major change that's necessary is to make sure that our votes, as they are cast, determine who the electors are. of course, and my point of view, we should eliminate the electoral college entirely. it was formed in a time when communic

is it the white house or the irs? st: we will start with joe from new orleans on our line for the democrats. joe, thank you for calling. caller: good morning. the republicans always complain that we never have a solution. they never say what republicans are going to do, all they can say is that the democrats don't do a, b and c. you did it with president obama, you are doing it now. all you do is say no and complain. you conveniently forget that there was a pandemic. there are people who died so therefore there are positions, jobs that are open that are not being filled because there are not people to fill them. you always complain but do nothing when you get an office. when you start off saying that republicans are doing this to relieve the pain of everyday citizens and not help just billionaires and millionaires as you did when president trump was in office then you will have something that is valuable to offer the american people. that was joe from new orleans. guest: i can give you some solutions. the problem is th

tonight, as f investigations began, the trump appointee who still runs the irs response, the reporterstory joins me live. then, on the january six committee of the big interview with white house counsel. plus david, hard on what we're learning about the father's role in the lethal gun sale before the highland park massacre.

. >>> tonight, the head of the irs is asking a agency's watchdog to investigate the decision to conductx youaudits of js c c comey and andrew mccabe. thanks for joining us. do you believe you and comey were targeted by the irs? just how invasive was that audit that went on? >> well, wolf, i don't know if jim and i were targeted but there are a lot of facts that point in that direction. certainly enough that should compel and seems to have compelled the irs to take a hard look at it. the odds that the two of us would be selected for something that is supposedly a random program are really incalc uable and we have both been targeted by the former president, have been continuously harassed by him. we were both targeted and basically run out of our jobs by that kind of pressure and harassment. so i think it's absolutely a matter worthy of investigation. >> let's move on to some other important news while i have you, andrew. we've getting new body campaign video of the raid against jeffrey clark. it's not clear if clark is the subject of a criminal investigation but based on the fact he wasn

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. >>> a new warning from the irs. ts are once again posing as the tax agency to rip people off. criminals are calling and sending out texts saying people owe money. jill joins us live from new york this morning. thank you very much for joining us. >> great to be with you. >> so, jill, what are the biggest red flags that people need to look out for with these? these have been going on for quite a bit now. >> you're right. they're only getting worse, by the way. most important thing to remember is the irs, 99% of the time, uses the u.s. postal service, snail mail. they're old school. that means the agency will never call to demand immediate payment using a specific method like a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. they will never threaten to bring in local police. they don't demand taxes be paid without giving you a chance to question or appeal. they're never asking for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. the irs does not use email, text or social media to discuss your personal tax issues or your fin

their reporting profits to their shareholders and to the irs, they're saying there broke.hahow do they do this? >> there's a couple reasons. one of the main ones that we talk about that president biden once to ntaddress is the fact that they kind of pretend is the best word. they kind of pretend enable their money in a different country than they actually make . the example uses box. starbucks mostly sells coffee in the united statesstof america . it started right down the street in seattle. and they've expanded all over the country and to other countries too. but what they managed to do and a lot of companies do this is they have some intellectual property. those are things like remarks, the right to use a logo. things like that. things that you can move with the click of a mouse. as opposed to like buildings and land can't be moved. then a lot of these companies this is companies and other companies including starbucks. they say we have affiliate in some other country like ireland d or liechtenstein or some country with little or no taxes on corporations and are intellectual property

they were reporting profits to the shareholders into the irs there saying their broker. aurice, how do they do this? systemic there's a couple different reasons is a bunch of different reasons. one of the main ones we talk about that president biden wants to address is the fact that they kind of pretend is the best word. they pretend they make all their money in a different country than they actually make it. the example used is starbucks. starbucks mostly sells coffee in the united states of america. it started right down the street in seattle. and they have expanded all over the country and other countries too. but what they managed to do a lot of companies do this is they have something called intellectual property. those are things like patents, trademarks, the rights to use a logo. things like that. things you can move with the click of a mouse as opposed to like buildings and land that cannot be moved. and then, one of these companies this is drug companies and other companies including starbucks they say oh we have an affiliate and some other country like ireland o

uh-huh remember you said we're the missing link in the irs no violence. too much from people, that's all. you were so petty, and now what, and nothing in my calculations? you should calmly go to jail. and you ruined everything. so sorry. how many times have i told you, i have seven grandchildren of this picture, and all the rest are the same idiots. how are you, so i'm sorry. almost stopped. i realized that he really doesn’t have a violin, his grandson’s violin, they ship it to austria and not by plane by train. so tell me more reliably, from which station the train leaves for austria . races, then children with a tool. stop, next to me. do you want to be able to talk faster? well stop runners, no i don't know where i went there i went. wait, wait wait wait normal what did i say? let's go great. guys great return in jeopardy. beyond the mountains is not even discussed. the one who called me wanted to congratulate you on the successful conduct of the operation. you're joking, artyom, let's agree on this. this will be your operation. your covert operation f

something the irs should spend time on. it's really smart. hopefully, they make their way through the house and the senate. >> is that a currency? it's a lot of money in crypto. would you buy a pizza like the first guided? would you buy a pizza with crypto? >> that coin today, it's like a currency. you don't walk around with gold coins in your pocket. same thing. the average holder, is going to use it as a store of value. it's really the currency aspect of it. it's the payment itself. it's the technology. the block team allows us to migrate from these 80 or 90- year-old technologies. it's a different currency element. the average holder is going to spend for coffee or donuts. >> if i believe bitcoin is going to $100,000, i own a bunch and i have made a lot of money. why would i buy anything because if it goes to 100,000, i have overpaid by 400%. i think we need a new name. >> really good point. i think the real issue, store value, versus meeting of exchange. other ones do a really good job. gas, for example, heavily used in places like venezue

the fact is that the irs is underfunded by an absurd amount of money, the irs commissioner, i think, testified yesterday, released about a trillion dollars from tax cheats and it's largely the wealthy and corporations, so a bunch of this stuff can be addressed, it's just that we have to have the will to address it. and we've got a political system where the people have the will to address it, across party lines, it doesn't matter. okay? biden's infrastructure plan is more popular by about 10 points when you tell people that corporations are going to pay for it. you know? and they're going to correct this injustice. that's very interesting. you know, but we have to make the political will stronger than the owner will. that's the moment that we're in, because everything that you see in the u.s., it feeds into trade agreements and that's how the whole international system breaks down, and the leadership from america is critical. go ahead, morris. >> the decision our government collectively, our people collectively are making, is really that president biden is right, there's a race to th

well, that in turn has drawn the ire of ukraine. meanwhile, germany is looking for other ways to fill the gaps left by russia, but some solutions are more comfortable than others. germany consumes one trillion kilowatt hours of gas per year. the lion's share comes from russia. since the invasion of ukraine, germany has been desperately trying to lean itself off russian gas. when the war began, germany received 55 percent of its supply from russia. german politicians and officials met with counterparts around the world to rapidly diversify its sources of gas. economy minister, robert havoc travel to could tar in march. the country is one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied gas. it agree to an energy partnership with germany, to help develop alternatives and expand terminals for the fuel. the german government move to the early warning stage for the countries gas supply by the end of march, saying it was a precaution in case supply diminished. by april, germany's dependence on russian gas fell to 35 percent. the russian energy supply was replaced by gas from norway and the net