An IRS whistleblower who filed a complaint in July about “inappropriate efforts to influence” President Donald Trump’s tax audit has reportedly turned down an invitation to have a transcribed interview with the Senate Finance Committee.
So Chuck…are you still protecting any whistleblower this week or not?
It seems that you might be able to structure an interview that doesn’t get the whistleblower in trouble with the IRS if you wanted to.
It’s almost like the whistleblower has seen how the GOP treats people who care about the rule of law, imagine that?
Of course the whole point of “whistle blower” laws are that the only way it works is if a whistle blower has complete confidence in their anonymity. I wouldn’t want any steps toward being identified either, and Republicans would be even hotter on the whistle blowers trail in this case.
They pull the fire alarm. They don’t investigate the fire or put it out (the latter because they aren’t in a position to).
As a government employee I once went to the guy above my supervisor to discuss serious problems the supervisor was causing which that guy would not be otherwise aware of, an analysis of the situation that many coworkers were also talking about. He discussed that everything would be in confidence and I reemphasized that in our conversation. The next day he went right to the supervisor and repeated everything I said and identified me as the messenger.
I was dead in the water after that. I had to get a different job at a different location.
When asked for confirmation of CNN’s report, a spokesperson for Grassley told TPM the committee “does not publicly discuss” whistleblower meetings that “have or have not happened.”
Schrödinger’s Whistleblower.
Seems like an obvious attempt at entrapment.
If they were serious about obtaining facts, they’d have offered some kind of immunity so the witness could testify.
The GOP are thugs.
The idea of a whistleblower is that then the powers that be make an investigation based on the complaint. It seems odd that Grassley hasn’t called in anyone from treasury or the IRS, or gotten in touch with the IG’s office, to do some independent investigating.
Oh, wait, not odd at all.
Yup. This person is aware that the gestapo will be waiting outside the door.
The fact that Trump’s tax returns and other financial records have not been leaked tells me one thing - the IRS is more scrupulous about keeping secrets than any other government agency including the FBI and the CIA. I find it amazing that these things have not come pouring out.
According to CNN’s report on Tuesday, the whistleblower declined to voluntarily testify because they were told doing so could potentially violate the IRS code that bars staffers from revealing information on taxpayers, which could lead to jail time.
Doesn’t the whistleblower have an attorney advising them on whether or not what they’re doing is illegal? I wonder if they’re holding out for a subpoena to avoid ‘voluntarily’ testifying, or if the last few months made them reconsider coming forward …
Like a brilliant soaring comet lighting up the dark night sky, Goddess Justice is streaking straight for the Orange Pustule Traitor on the wings of Truth and Law. Streaking aloft on a blazing pyre his tax returns.
The IRS would be able to quickly find who went snooping for Trump’s tax docs. The person would be willing to go to jail for this. Trump would have Bill Barr send the person to a maximum security prison.
Maybe the IRS whistleblower read about the New Orleans construction worker who pointed out flaws in the Hard Rock Hotel construction project.
Oh, do tell!
I have not seen it.
Meanwhile, the bigwigs are cozily lawyered up and enjoying the holiday season — the worms who got three men killed and many injured, who devastated local businesses and drained the city coffers to the tune of more than $6 million as of early November.
If they had listened to the workers…
Exact same situation here. Different agency. “whistle-blowers” got retaliated against. Technically your higher up violated your right to be protected. Practically, you were screwed, as were my colleagues. Soorry this happened. The world is full of too many idiots who have no idea what it means to manage people.
WB is being appropriately cautious and respectful of the law. They came forward to say someone in their agency was doing something improper. But they know they themselves are restricted in what they can reveal about a taxpayer. The law protects them (in theory) from the other employee, the law does not protect them against revealing confidential info about a taxpayer.
What was that thing Congress provided to Lt. Col Oliver North, so as to assure him he’d face no legal jeopardy for testifying?
Community? Something like that, I think.
Anyway, seems like a simple solution for this issue.