https://conservativebrief.com/tax-judge-orders-40260/
OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author's opinion
The Clinton family just can’t stay out of trouble.
With allegations of pay-for-play still looming over them, a U.S. Tax Court judge has ordered the Internal Revenue Service to disclose whether it brought a criminal inquiry against the Clinton Foundation for fraud.
The tax agency’s Whistleblower Office said in the past that no such inquiry was conducted by the Criminal Investigation division, but Judge David Gustafson insisted the claim “was not supported by the administrative record and thus constituted an abuse of discretion,” according to an April 22 ruling obtained by Just The News.
Gustafson sent the case back to the IRS Whistleblower Office to “explore” a “gap” in the agency’s records.
“The WO [Whistleblower Office] must further investigate to determine whether CI [Criminal Investigation division] proceeded with an investigation based on petitioners’ information and collected proceeds,” the judge said. “It seems clear we should remand the case to the WO so that it can explore this gap.”
Gustafson added that a trial pertaining to “dereliction of duty by the IRS” will not take place.
“Petitioners evidently look forward to a trial in which they hope to prove wrongdoing and tax evasion by the target entities and to prove dereliction of duty by the IRS,” he said. “There will be no such trial in this case.”
The Clinton Foundation made headlines in 2018 when two financial analysts, John Moynihan and Larry Doyle, said they uncovered evidence of pay-to-play and financial crimes in the nonprofit organization, which is operated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea Clinton.
The pair of whistleblowers were brought before the House Oversight Committee in December of that year.
During their testimony, Moynihan and Doyle said they carried out an extensive forensic investigation based on public records, tax filings, and private interviews with Clinton Foundation officials.
The investigators said Clinton Foundation CFO Andrew Kessel admitted to them in a taped conversation that Bill Clinton used the foundation’s bank accounts for personal expenses.
Moynihan and Doyle also said they viewed foundation emails from 2002 discussing deals with the government of Mozambique.
Moynihan said this was evidence that the Clinton Foundation was working on behalf of foreign governments even though the foundation’s stated mission in IRS filings at the time was to build Bill Clinton’s presidential library.
The allegations drew questions about possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which mandates those engaged in political activities “make a periodic public disclosure” of their relationships with foreign dignitaries.
Republican lawmakers criticized the two men for refusing to reveal any tapes or documents they collected.
“If you’re not going to share [the documents] with the committee and cut to the chase, my patience is running out,” then-Rep. Mark Meadows, who invited the duo to speak before the panel he led at the time, said in a heated exchange during the December 2018 hearing.
Moynihan and Doyle said they could not turn over the documents from their investigation to the committee because they did not want to infringe on ongoing investigations at government agencies, and they said they hope to make money off their investigation and have turned over the documents to the IRS as part of a “probable cause” submission.
The New York Times reported in September 2020 that then-U.S. Attorney John Durham was reviewing the FBI’s handling of an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
He “sought documents and interviews about how federal law enforcement officials handled an investigation … into allegations of political corruption” at the nonprofit organization, the report said.
The Clinton Foundation told the news outlet it has “regularly been subjected to baseless, politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have been proven false.”
