President Trump is getting audited again

President Trump will be audited no matter what.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, falsely claiming that he can't do so because he is under audit. Trump can expect a minimum of four more years of audits, though, because the president and vice president are automatically audited every single year.

The "mandatory examination" has been in place since Watergate, when President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew's tax controversies came to the surface. The IRS decided afterward to make the audits a guarantee for all presidents and vice presidents, regardless of party, so the agency would not appear to have a partisan favor.

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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.