民主党参议员敦促美国国税局监察长调查财政部助理部长兼IRS代理首席律师肯尼斯·基斯的离职事件[1]。基斯本月初同时辞去了这两个职位[1]。
根据民主党的指控，基斯在离职前曾警告白宫官员可能违反禁止行政部门干预税收执法的法律[1]。这一禁止条款源自水门事件[1]。民主党在声明中表示："如果报道准确，基斯确实向白宫官员建议了这些风险，政府不仅忽视IRS首席法律顾问、还因其试图遵守法律而解雇他，这令人极其担忧"[1]。
民主党指控基斯因提出这些法律关切而被特朗普政府解雇[1]。白宫方面则否认了这一指控，称基斯不是团队成员、难以合作[1]。
基斯曾在2025年6月被任命领导税收政策办公室[1]。值得注意的是，特朗普与政府的一份2018年和解协议包含条款规定，IRS同意撤销对特朗普是否缴纳公平税额的所有待决调查[1]。根据该协议的单页附录，美国被"永久禁止"审查或起诉特朗普、其儿子及特朗普集团的当前税务申报[1]。
Democratic senators have urged the IRS inspector general to investigate why Kenneth Kies, a senior Treasury and IRS official, departed from his positions after raising legal concerns with White House officials [1].
Kies, who was appointed in June 2025 to lead the Office of Tax Policy, simultaneously left his roles as assistant Treasury secretary and acting chief counsel for the IRS earlier this month [1]. Before his departure, he cautioned White House officials about potential violations of laws prohibiting executive branch interference with tax enforcement [1].
Democrats contend that Kies was dismissed specifically because he raised these concerns, characterizing the situation as troubling [1]. A Democratic statement alleged: "If the reports are accurate and Kies did advise White House officials of these risks, it is deeply concerning that the government ignored the IRS's chief legal counsel and fired him for attempting to comply with the law" [1].
The White House has offered a different explanation, asserting that Kies was not a team player and difficult to work with [1].
The dispute takes place against a backdrop of legal restrictions stemming from the Watergate scandal that prohibit executive interference in tax audits [1]. A 2018 settlement agreement between the Trump administration and the government included a provision requiring the IRS to withdraw all pending investigations into whether Trump paid fair taxes [1]. According to a one-page appendix to that agreement, the United States is "permanently prohibited" from reviewing or prosecuting current tax returns filed by Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization [1].