What’s the worst threat you can think of? The answer to this question probably depends on who you ask. My teenage daughter might say taking away her phone or the threat of somebody unfollowing her on Instagram. If you ask any normal adult person, it might be the threat of physical harm. But if you ask somebody in my circle of friends, it would definitely be the threat of an IRS audit. There are few things more agonizing than the dreaded audit.
The Republican Party is threatening Hillary Clinton and her family’s charity, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), not with legal action, but with an IRS audit. Of course, they can’t audit her themselves; they filed a formal complaint asking the IRS to audit the charity. CHAI staved off an investigation back in May by agreeing to file amended returns and fix the problem. But now they are taking the position that the income was correctly stated and amendments are not necessary. As the Democratic front runner, Hillary will undoubtedly attract plenty of scrutiny, and the Republicans will do their best to portray her as a tax cheat.