ALSO SEE: Whistle-Blower's Allegations Were Known Soon After Call

Looks Like There's a Second Whistleblower Alleging Trump Acted Improperly

By Colin Kalmbacher, Law & Crime

27 September 19

ave you got a case of whistleblower complaint fatigue? If so, this story might not be for you.

While President Donald Trump currently has his hands�and the Department of Justice�full with allegations of impropriety vis-�-vis the Ukraine-phone-call-whistleblower-complaint-cover-up scandal, there is reportedly another whistleblower and concomitant complaint waiting for the 45th president in the wings.

A little-noticed court filing from August contains a shocking allegation made by a disgruntled Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee: that President Trump attempted to interfere with some aspect of the agency�s mandatory presidential audit system.

That court filing includes a letter authored by House Ways and Means Chairman�Richard Neal (D-Mass.) which is addressed to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and describes the situation thusly:

On July 29, 2019, the Committee received an unsolicited communication from a Federal employee setting forth credible allegations of �evidence of possible misconduct�-specifically, potential �inappropriate efforts to influence� the mandatory audit program.

House Democrats were apparently already worried about such an improper use of presidential power in the abstract.

�This is a grave charge that appreciably heightens the Committee�s concerns about the absence of appropriate safeguards as part of the mandatory audit program and whether statutory codification of such program or other remedial, legislative measures are warranted,� the letter continues.

Beyond general concerns, however, Democrats now claim to have some undisclosed�but specific�information supporting that belief. And they seem to think the Trump Administration is lying about it.

The Neal-Mnuchin letter continues:

The Committee has raised these concerns repeatedly, both in prior correspondence as well as at the June 10 briefing with staff from both Treasury and the IRS. Commissioner [Charles] Rettig, in his May 17, 2019 letter, responded that the �concern that IRS employees could be subject to undue influence when conducting mandatory audits of a President�s tax returns� is �unfounded.� The allegations received by the Committee cast doubt on this statement and underscore the pressing need for complete and meaningful oversight of the mandatory audit program.

As a result of that IRS whistleblower complaint, Neal requested �a rolling production of documents and communications of specified Treasury and IRS employees.�

Mnuchin was sent the letter on August 8 and given a deadline of August 13 to reply�which he did. In his response, Mnuchin declined to cooperate with Neal�s request and said he referred the matter to the Treasury Department�s Office of Inspector General (OIG).

Neal and others on the Ways and Means Committee have remained tight-lipped about the allegations and the person who made them in public�but offered to provide extensive details to Trump-appointed Judge Trevor McFadden, who is overseeing the House�s lawsuit over the 45th president�s ever elusive tax returns.

A donor to President Trump�s 2016 presidential campaign and transition volunteer, McFadden reacted to the whistleblower allegations with a distinctly judicial nonchalance�he�s so far declined to take the Democrats up on their offer, according to HuffPost.

Law&Crime reached out to Treasury Department Inspector General Eric Thorson via email for comment on this story but no response was forthcoming at the time of publication.�Attempts to elicit information about this story from Rep. Neal�s press team were similarly unsuccessful.