Dr. Ben Carson, the former surgeon who criticized President Obama over his lack of leadership and health care plan earlier this year, now claims he was unfairly targeted by the IRS because of his comments against the administration.

During an interview on "The O’Reilly Factor" Wednesday, Carson says the Internal Revenue Service started looking into his real estate holdings following his comments against the White House at the National Prayer Breakfast in February.

Carson says he had never had a problem with the tax-collecting agency until he spoke out against the president.

Eventually, the IRS conducted a full audit against Carson and found no wrongdoing, he said.

When asked directly by O’Reilly if he was targeted because of his anti-Obama stance, Carson responded, “Well, whether that was the case or not, the fundamental issue here is that the freedom of our citizens is being threatened.”

Carson went on to say he thought the issue is a “much more serious thing than Watergate or Iran-Contra or Benghazigate. Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, is one of the major principles of our country.”

Carson, a former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, first said he was targeted by the IRS at an event in Birmingham, Ala., Monday night.

“I had my first encounter with the IRS this year, unsurprisingly after the prayer breakfast,” he said at the annual Business Council of Alabama Chairman’s Dinner.

Calls to the IRS for comment were not immediately returned.