U.S. Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY), who is running for re-election and welcomed President Donald Trump at his campaign rally in Rockland County on Friday, is under scrutiny this week for repeating one of the President’s claims about being a victim of “weaponization” by the Biden administration.
On Sunday on Face the Nation, when Lawler was asked about Trump’s recent deal with the IRS that prevents the federal agency from auditing any Trump family tax records, Lawler said: “I think when it comes to any agreements that the president has made with the IRS, from my vantage point, you know, I think looking back at what the Biden administration did, they certainly weaponized the government and were targeting the president.”
[NOTE: Although Trump promised to release his tax returns while campaigning for president in 2015 — he claimed he couldn’t at the time because he was being audited by the IRS — Trump has never released his returns. Information from them was eventually leaked by a private contractor working with the IRS, leading to the lawsuit Trump settled earlier this month.]
When asked about the recent settlement that prevents the IRS from auditing any Trump family tax records, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) says President Trump “obviously had claims that he brought against the government as a result of” the Biden administration.
“I think when it comes to… pic.twitter.com/kyzSHWaLum
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 24, 2026
In response to Lawler citing Biden’s alleged weaponization, many X users joined Community Notes in noting that Biden was not president when Trump’s tax records were leaked. As one commenter noted: “The leak prompting the IRS settlement happened in 2019 during Trump’s presidency, not the Biden administration.”
Former CNN White House correspondent John Harwood also responded to the Lawler interview: “Biden was not president when Trump’s tax returns were leaked… the lying by Republicans like Mike Lawler is utterly shameless.”
Some MAGA supporters are responding with acknowledgment that Biden wasn’t president when the returns were leaked, but argue that what they characterize as “the real scandal” is that “the Biden IRS and DOJ turned those returns into years of nonstop lawfare and audits against Trump and his family.”
A MAGA supporter wrote: “Democrats cheered every leak and audit when it was aimed at him. Now that he’s stopping it? Suddenly they care about fairness. The hypocrisy is what’s shameless.”
Michael Caputo, who served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Public Affairs during the first Trump administration, replied to Harwood: “John you are really stupid, but not stupid enough to think the President controls the permanent bureaucracy. This kind of comment makes it harder for you to hide your stupidity.”
[NOTE: During a 2016 presidential debate, when Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said the few Trump tax returns that were publicly available “showed he didn’t pay any federal income tax,” Trump responded, “That makes me smart.”]