---
[ LOS ANGELES ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles)
# Another Whistleblower: This One Alleges Trump Effort to Corrupt IRS
September 26 2019
Written by Jake Johnson.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
**WHISTLEBLOWER WATCH**--House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Richard Neal is reportedly sitting on a credible and ["potentially explosive"](https://twitter.com/ArthurDelaneyHP/status/1176954474138603521) whistleblower complaint alleging that President Donald Trump attempted to influence an IRS audit of his tax returns.
On Wednesday, as much of the public's attention focused on a whistleblower complaint regarding Trump and Ukraine, *HuffPost* [reported](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-tax-whistleblower-irs_n_5d8bafc6e4b08f48f4ae8978) that a federal employee in July approached the House Ways and Means Committee with evidence the president "tried to corrupt an Internal Revenue Service audit of his personal tax returns."
"If the House Ways and Means Committee believes that Donald Trump has unduly influenced the IRS, they have a duty to make the public aware of this blatant act of corruption."
—Ryan Thomas, Stand Up America
Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has refused to discuss the tax whistleblower's claims in public, opting instead to use the official's allegations to strengthen the Ways and Means Committee's legal effort to obtain Trump's tax returns.
But now that House Democrats are moving forward with a [formal impeachment inquiry](https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/24/nobody-above-law-pelosi-announces-official-trump-impeachment-inquiry) against Trump, progressives are demanding that Neal break his silence on the whistleblower complaint and give the public as much information as possible about another potential abuse of power by the president.
"If the House Ways and Means Committee believes that Donald Trump has unduly influenced the IRS, they have a duty to make the public aware of this blatant act of corruption," Ryan Thomas, spokesperson for progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, told *Common Dreams*.
In a brief [filed](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/20/tax-democrats-trump-1673427) in a Washington, D.C. federal court last month, the House Ways and Means Committee said it received "unsolicited communication" from a federal employee on July 29 detailing "credible allegations of 'evidence of possible misconduct'—specifically, potential 'inappropriate efforts to influence' the mandatory audit program."
*HuffPost* reported that the committee's filing "provided no further detail about the whistleblower, but in a footnote, Democrats offered to tell U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden all about it in private."
"A spokesman for the committee said this week that McFadden, a Trump nominee who donated to the Trump 2016 campaign and volunteered for the Trump presidential transition, has so far not asked to hear more about the whistleblower," according to *HuffPost*.
Jeff Hauser, director of Revolving Door Project, an anti-corruption group, told *HuffPost* that publicizing the tax whistleblower's complaint could strengthen the case for impeachment.
"The House Ways and Means Committee must figure out a way to make the public aware of the serious cause to worry that the IRS might have been corrupted by Trump," Hauser said.
*(Jake Johnson writes for Common Dreams … where this report was first posted.)*
*-cw*
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/116 "USA Radio Museum - Wide")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Name
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33710-bass-is-out-raman-is-in-is-los-angeles-trading-failure-for-a-bigger-crisis)
### [Bass Is Out. Raman Is In. Is Los Angeles Trading Failure for a Bigger Crisis?](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33710-bass-is-out-raman-is-in-is-los-angeles-trading-failure-for-a-bigger-crisis)
THE BOTTOM LINE - Karen Bass lost the confidence of Los Angeles voters. Nithya Raman won their support. But can a new m…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33687-first-test-of-next-governor-s-leadership-demand-a-full-forensic-audit-of-bullet-train)
### [First Test of Next Governor`s Leadership: Demand a Full Forensic Audit of Bullet Train](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33687-first-test-of-next-governor-s-leadership-demand-a-full-forensic-audit-of-bullet-train)
NICK’S VIEW - For a case study in lost public trust and squandered taxpayer money, look no further than California’s hi…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33704-nithyas-budget-buzz-saw)
### [Nithya’s Budget Buzz Saw](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33704-nithyas-budget-buzz-saw)
LA WATCHDOG - Nithya Raman, our new mayor, will inherit a budget that is a river of red ink. According to the First Fi…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33698-a-great-night-for-america-and-a-warning-to-both-parties)
### [A Great Night for America—and a Warning to Both Parties](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33698-a-great-night-for-america-and-a-warning-to-both-parties)
FRED TALK - The opinions in this column are solely mine and I stand by them. I did not write yesterday because I wanted…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33709-progress-not-presto-chango)
### [Progress, Not Presto-Chango](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33709-progress-not-presto-chango)
IN MY VIEW - If We Want People Off the Streets, We Have to Give Them Somewhere to Go. I was about five years old, wa…
---
## [ LOS ANGELES ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33680-could-la100-triple-your-power-rates)### [Could LA100 Triple Your Power Rates?](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33680-could-la100-triple-your-power-rates)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33686-los-angeles-is-already-testing-the-limits-of-robotaxi-safety)### [Los Angeles Is Already Testing the Limits of Robotaxi Safety](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33686-los-angeles-is-already-testing-the-limits-of-robotaxi-safety)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33637-getting-housing-projects-through-los-angeles-permitting-and-land-use-approvals)### [Getting Housing Projects Through Los Angeles Permitting and Land-Use Approvals](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33637-getting-housing-projects-through-los-angeles-permitting-and-land-use-approvals)
### [JAY on LA 10-28-26](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33630-jay-on-la-10-28-26)
### [JAY ON LA for 10-26-26](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33629-jay-on-la-for-10-26-26)