The I.R.S. and Justice Department were discussed along with Mr. Trump, by a former high-ranking official about his attempts to use the government to his own ends

The I.R.S. and Justice Department were discussed along with Mr. Kelly, by Mr. Trump.

“The U.S. government, whether it’s the I.R.S. or the Justice Department, should never be weaponized or used to retaliate, and certainly not because someone criticizes you in the press or is your political opponent,” Mr. Kelly said in response to questions. The average federal employee or F.B.I. agent should not be placed in that position.

“It’s total fiction created by a psycho, John Kelly, who never said this before, and made it up just because he’s become so irrelevant,” said the spokeswoman, Liz Harrington.

Mr. Kelly’s statements are among the most damning from a former high-ranking official about Mr. Trump’s efforts to use federal power to his own ends, and come just days before Mr. Trump is scheduled to announce another presidential campaign.

Mr. Kelly said he chose to respond now because he believed that Mr. Trump had made false claims about using the Justice Department and F.B.I. to try to help a candidate. Mr Kelly was Mr. Trump’s chief of staff at the time. Mr. Kelly said it would have been improper for him to use the Justice Department and F.B.I.

Some of Mr. Trump’s requests, including his attempts to use the Justice Department against his enemies, has been corroborated by other public disclosures and former Trump aides.

“I would say, ‘It’s inappropriate, it’s illegal, it’s against their integrity and the I.R.S. knows what it’s doing and it’s not a good idea,’” According to the Times, Kelly said he told Trump.

Investigating Trump’s alleged tax audit with the Internal Revenue Service: The case against obstruction of justice, Comey, and the Analytic Investigative Report

The Internal Revenue Service selected the two fierce critics of Donald Trump for an intensive tax audit. According to The Times, there is a one-in- 30,600 chance of anyone being selected for the audit.

The IRS denied any politically motivated audits in a statement to CNN, and the Times quoted former chief of staff John Kelly as saying that he convinced Trump not to pursue such investigations while he was in office.

One of the leaders of the Russia investigation that pursued advisers of Trump and whether he had obstruction of justice was now a CNN law enforcement analyst.

Trump and Comey had a similarly tumultuous relationship. In a stunning move, Trump fired Comey as FBI director in May 2017, triggering the appointment of a special counsel. Trump has called Comey a “liar” and “leaker” and suggested that his actions were treasonous. Comey has bashed Trump as a stain on American democracy.

In July of this year, when discussing the audit he had supposedly been randomly selected for, he told CNN’s Laura Coates that it just defies logic to think there wasn’t some other factor involved.

“I think that’s a reasonable question. I think it should be investigated. People need to be able to trust the institutions of government and so that’s why there should be some – we should dig through this and find out what happened,” he continued.