Donald Trump's 12-year audit? It's pretty fishy, a former IRS agent says.

Trump tax audits could be cause for concern, Ex-IRS agent warns.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Donald Trump has chronically dragged his feet on disclosing his tax returns, claiming that the process of preparing the returns was time-consuming, and then flipping his story to say he was being audited by the IRS. Despite the fact that being audited in no way prevents someone from releasing returns, there was perhaps a major revelation in Trump's excuse — "For many years, I've been audited every year, 12 years or something like that," Trump said during Thursday night's Republican debate.

Former IRS agent Alan Olsen said to be audited every year for the past 12 years is a "very unusual" level of scrutiny, Bloomberg reports. "He signed his name to a return in which the IRS is finding problems for the past 12 years," Olsen said.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.