WATCH: Jon Stewart brutally audits the IRS
The Daily Show host tears into the tax agency with the glee of someone enjoying sweet revenge
Jon Stewart sounds like a man who has been audited by the IRS. Maybe multiple times. Kicking off his last week at The Daily Show before taking the summer off, Stewart gleefully introduced a new segment called "Where Are Your Receipts, A--hole?" — essentially turning the tables on the Internal Revenue Service, at least rhetorically. With all the scrutiny of the IRS stemming from its targeting of Tea Party tax-exempt applicants, Stewart lays in: "Sucks to get audited, doesn't it?"
He puts on the green eyeshade (metaphorically) for the next part. After running through a series of questionable IRS expenses uncovered in a new Treasury Department inspector generals' report, Stewart warns the IRS — with obvious relish — that this audit will take a long time. He finishes by trolling the tax agency with a suggestion for somebody who might be able to help them through their audit.
As today's bonus video, Stewart offers his take on Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) covert day trip to Syria to meet with rebels trying to unseat President Bashar al-Assad. Noting that McCain was very likely photographed with two rebels involved in a kidnapping, Stewart offers this zinger: "Oh my God, John McCain is literally palling around with terrorists!" He then brings it back to policy, and McCain's assertion that it's easy to tell the good guys from the bad. Watch:
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.