Lawyers say Donald Trump is under 'continuous' IRS audit

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APPLETON, Wisconsin (AP) — Tax counsel for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in a letter released Wednesday that the billionaire businessman has been under continuous IRS audit for more than a decade.

In the letter, released by the Trump campaign to demonstrate that the candidate is in fact under audit, Sheri Dillon and William Nelson wrote that Trump's personal federal tax returns "have been under continuous examination by the Internal Revenue Service since 2002, consistent with the IRS's practice for large and complex businesses."

The attorneys said the examinations of returns for years 2002 to 2008 "have been closed administratively by agreement with the IRS without assessment or payment, on a net basis, of any deficiency," while the examinations for the years 2009 and onward are "ongoing."

Trump has cited the audits as the reason he refuses to release his tax returns for public examination.

The release came as Trump was facing intense scrutiny for comments he'd made earlier in the day on abortion. Trump said during a televised town hall taping that women should be punished for getting abortions if they are ever made illegal. He later reversed himself, issuing a statement saying that abortion providers, not women, are the ones who should be held legally responsible.

The letter is dated March 7, more than three weeks ago.

The attorneys also wrote that Trump's personal federal income tax returns are "inordinately large and complex for an individual" because of the nature of his business dealings.