President Donald Trump repeatedly told John F. Kelly, his second White House chief of staff, that he wanted a number of his perceived political enemies to be investigated by the IRS.
Even while he was positioned to be the most powerful man in the world, Trump was motivated by insecurity, pettiness and vindictiveness as if as a testament to his inadequacy.
Kelly, who was chief of staff from July 2017 through the end of 2018, said in response to questions from The New York Times that Trump’s demands were part of a broader pattern of him trying to use the Justice Department and his authority as president against people who had been critical of him, including seeking to revoke the security clearances of former top intelligence officials.
Kelly said that among those Trump said “we ought to investigate” and “get the IRS on” were former FBI Director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe.
His account of Trump’s desires to use the IRS against his foes comes after the revelation by the Times this summer that Comey and McCabe had both been selected for a rare and highly intrusive audit by the tax agency in the years after Kelly left the White House.
Taken as a whole, Trump’s use of political power to pursue personal vendettas is unprecedented in modern history, said Matthew Dallek, a political historian who teaches at George Washington University.
“It’s both a sign of deep insecurity on his part and also just a litany of abuse of power,” Dallek said. “I don’t think anyone really has done it as consistently or as viciously as Trump has. No one has used the power of the bully pulpit in such a public way.”
Trump grounded a military jet use by the Democratic House speaker, yanked a security clearance from a former CIA director critical of him, threatened to withhold disaster aid from states led by Democrats.
He also pushed to reopen a criminal investigation targeting Hillary Clinton and publicly called for federal action to punish technology and media companies he views as biased against him.
“It’s both a sign of deep insecurity on his part and also just a litany of abuse of power,” he said. “I don’t think anyone really has done it as consistently or as viciously as Trump has. No one has used the power of the bully pulpit in such a public way.”
Trump publicly and privately campaigned for the Israeli government to bar two members of Congress, Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, from visiting Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked the lawmakers, who had protested Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
Although he is not the only president known for such vindictiveness, Kelly’s revelations show that he was also incompetent and conspicuous enough that he may suffer legal ramifications for abusing his power.
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