IRS Unexpectedly Halted Clinton Foundation Criminal Probe In 2019: Report
Years after the FBI shut down multiple corruption probes into Bill and Hillary Clinton’s charity, the IRS under President Donald Trump during his first term opened a criminal tax investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
But the inquiry abruptly stalled in spring 2019, when agents cut off contact with whistleblowers despite earlier signals of strong interest, according to newly released IRS memos and emails reviewed by Just the News.
Internal records show two whistleblowers — John Moynihan, a retired DEA financial crimes analyst, and Larry Doyle, a corporate tax compliance expert — met with IRS criminal investigators between January and April 2019. The duo submitted thousands of pages of documents and filed multiple IRS Form 211 “Applications for Award for Original Information,” which could have entitled them to financial rewards if their evidence led to tax recoveries, Just The News reported.
Meeting notes indicate the IRS initially signaled enthusiasm. Agents discussed formalizing Moynihan and Doyle as cooperating witnesses, took possession of thumb drives with nearly 6,300 pages of exhibits, and even requested a server to store the material.
One investigator allegedly remarked that their documents suggested “the entire enterprise is a fraud.”
By late February 2019, Moynihan and Doyle say they were told the IRS could pursue a case based on their submissions. They were photographed, registered as cooperating informants, and encouraged to prepare witness lists and investigative roadmaps. The whistleblowers’ materials alleged the foundation misused funds, engaged in improper commingling of personal and charitable business, and operated as an unregistered foreign agent.
But in the weeks that followed, interest cooled dramatically. Memos quote agents later repeating, “we can’t talk about the CF,” a stark reversal from earlier meetings. By July 2019, investigative activity had ceased altogether.
Emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show confusion inside the IRS. In one exchange, headquarters staff expressed surprise that Moynihan and Doyle were still meeting with agents months after the case had supposedly been closed in 2018. Other communications referenced missing or misrouted packages containing whistleblower documents.
The whistleblowers’ attorney, Brian Della Rocca, said the IRS abruptly abandoned them despite requesting their filings. “We know for a fact that an investigation was started into the claims because it was done before the claims were filed,” he told Just the News. “Once received by the Whistleblower Office, the claims were shut down. We are beyond frustrated.”
The case has since shifted to U.S. Tax Court, where Moynihan and Doyle are pursuing two whistleblower suits, one tentatively slated for trial in December.
The newly disclosed records add to a pattern of federal agencies showing interest in but ultimately backing away from probes into the Clinton Foundation. The Hill previously reported the pair had filed more than 6,000 pages of evidence with the IRS and FBI in 2017, citing improper foreign dealings, possible pay-to-play arrangements while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, and financial irregularities.
Their evidence included a 2016 interview with longtime Clinton Foundation CFO Andrew Kessel, who allegedly admitted he could not stop Bill Clinton from mixing personal and charitable activities and that he “knows where all the bodies are buried.”
Moynihan and Doyle also testified to Congress in December 2018, warning that the foundation acted as an agent of foreign governments and should have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They alleged the foundation collected $2.8 billion in revenue inconsistent with its nonprofit authorization and diverted funds from stated purposes like building the Clinton presidential library.
Despite these claims, the IRS and DOJ ultimately took no public enforcement action. The Clinton Foundation has long denied wrongdoing, attributing compliance issues to administrative errors and dismissing allegations as politically motivated.
Why the 2019 investigation stalled remains unclear. Records suggest field investigators took the allegations seriously, but higher-level decisions curtailed momentum.
Litigation in Tax Court may provide further answers about who derailed the case and why, the outlet reported.
