The IRS under Trump’s watch kicked off a criminal tax probe into the Clinton Foundation in 2019, only to slam the brakes without explanation, as Just the News reports. Whistleblowers, armed with years of research, exposed alleged financial shenanigans, but the IRS folded faster than a cheap suit. This sudden halt raises eyebrows about who pulls the strings in Washington.
In early 2019, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division dove into allegations against the Clinton Foundation, sparked by whistleblowers John Moynihan and Larry Doyle. These two, a retired DEA financial crimes analyst and a corporate tax expert, respectively, brought evidence of potential wrongdoing. Their claims pointed to a web of financial missteps, but the IRS seemed to lose its nerve.
Moynihan and Doyle, no strangers to high-stakes investigations, met IRS agents multiple times between January and April 2019. Their evidence included a “whiteboard chart” linking the Clinton Foundation to other nonprofits, the Gates Foundation, and even U.S. taxpayers. Yet, the IRS’s enthusiasm fizzled by mid-year, leaving questions unanswered.
The whistleblowers’ meetings with IRS agents, including Carlo Nastasi and Paul Bataille, were intense, with one agent snapping a photo of their chart on January 22, 2019. By March, they submitted 98 exhibits, a hefty 6,300 pages detailing the Foundation’s operations, including questionable activities in India. This wasn’t just a hunch -- it was a mountain of evidence.
Moynihan, who testified before Congress in 2003 on terrorist financing, didn’t mince words in 2018: “The Clinton Foundation began acting as an agent of foreign governments.” He argued it should’ve registered under FARA but didn’t, potentially jeopardizing its tax-exempt status. The IRS, initially intrigued, seemed ready to pounce, but then backed off.
The Foundation, with $2.8 billion collected and over $400 million in net assets, allegedly paid for personal expenses like travel, per the whistleblowers. They claimed it operated as a foreign agent without proper registration. That’s a bold accusation, but the IRS’s sudden silence suggests someone didn’t want it explored.
By late February 2019, IRS agents started dodging, saying they “can’t talk about the CF.” One agent, John Tafur, called the Foundation’s entire enterprise “a fraud” on February 26, yet the probe stalled. The IRS demanded a current insider witness, a hurdle that smells like an excuse to shut things down.
Internal IRS emails from February and March 2019 showed coordination with U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Texas and field offices in Dallas and Newark. But by May, confusion reigned -- emails even mentioned a lost package sent to a New Jersey IRS office. This Keystone Cops routine didn’t inspire confidence in the investigation’s fate.
The whistleblowers’ 2017 Form 211 applications, filed years earlier, were denied in February 2019, citing vague reasons like “limited resources” or “no material issues.” Their lawyer, Brian Della Rocca, fumed: “We know for a fact that an investigation was started.” The IRS’s about-face left them fighting in Tax Court, with a trial looming in December 2019.
Moynihan and Doyle’s 2017 submission to the IRS and FBI alleged the Foundation mixed personal and charity business, even promising quid pro quo to donors during Hillary Clinton’s time as Secretary of State. That’s not just sloppy bookkeeping -- that’s a scandal waiting to erupt. Yet, the IRS let it slide, no questions asked.
The Clinton Foundation admitted to past compliance issues in internal audits but insisted they were fixed. “Knows where all the bodies are buried,” said CFO Andrew Kessel, a quote that raises more questions than it answers. If everything was above board, why the cryptic language?
The Foundation kept operating after handing its library to the National Archives, shifting to health care without IRS approval. That’s not a minor oversight—it’s a potential violation of tax-exempt rules. Bill Gates, a donor, reportedly had concerns, but the IRS didn’t dig deeper.
Moynihan and Doyle, undeterred, are battling in Tax Court to force the IRS to act. Their 6,000 pages of evidence from 2017, plus the 6,300 pages from 2019, paint a damning picture. But the IRS’s inaction suggests a bigger fish got away.
IRS agent Carlo Nastasi admitted on March 29, 2019, that the agency wasn’t equipped to tackle charities stepping beyond their approved purpose. “The IRS is not capable or staffed to oversee this activity,” he said. That’s a stunning admission -- either incompetence or a deliberate dodge.
The probe’s collapse by July 2019 smells of political interference, though the facts don’t name names. When whistleblowers bring hard evidence and the IRS shrugs, it’s hard not to see a double standard. The Clinton Foundation skates while taxpayers are left wondering who’s really in charge.
