Blackburn Requests IRS Review of Clinton Foundation Exemption
Blackburn Requests IRS Review of Clinton Foundation Exemption
- AuthorsBlackburn, Rep. MarshaNeugebauer, Rep. RandyFranks, Rep. TrentMeadows, Rep. MarkBrooks, Rep. MoDesJarlais, Rep. ScottRouzer, Rep. DavidRoss, Rep. Dennis A.Olson, Rep. PeteHultgren, Rep. RandyRoe, Rep. David P.Walberg, Rep. TimZinke, Rep. Ryan K.Black, Rep. DianeFlores, Rep. BillGohmert, Rep. LouieGranger, Rep. KayRatcliffe, Rep. JohnChabot, Rep. SteveJenkins, Rep. LynnJones, Rep. Walter B.Price, Rep. TomDuncan, Rep. John J., Jr.Shimkus, Rep. JohnWagner, Rep. AnnWilliams, Rep. RogerLoudermilk, Rep. BarryBridenstine, Rep. JimBrat, Rep. DaveByrne, Rep. BradleyBabin, Rep. BrianKing, Rep. SteveYoho, Rep. Ted S.Weber, Rep. Randy K., Sr.Fincher, Rep. Stephen LeeMarino, Rep. TomSessions, Rep. PeteBurgess, Rep. Michael C.McCaul, Rep. Michael T.Allen, Rep. Rick W.Long, Rep. BillyNewhouse, Rep. DanFleischmann, Rep. Charles J.Pearce, Rep. StevanPerry, Rep. ScottMesser, Rep. LukeGoodlatte, Rep. BobJohnson, Rep. SamSalmon, Rep. MattDuncan, Rep. JeffMarchant, Rep. Kenny
- Institutional AuthorsHouse of Representatives
- Code Sections
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Document NumberDoc 2015-11943
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2015 TNT 97-33
May 19, 2015
Washington, DC -- Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was joined by 51 of her House colleagues today in sending a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen requesting a review of the Clinton Foundation's tax-exempt status. The letter requests that the IRS respond within 30 days.
"As I've traveled through my district and talked to constituents, many people have asked about the widely reported improprieties concerning the Clinton Foundation. That's why I decided to send a letter to Commissioner Koskinen asking the IRS to conduct a review of the Clinton Foundation's tax-exempt status," Blackburn said. "Media reports containing specific allegations have cast a cloud over the Clinton Foundation and call into question whether it is acting within the scope of its charitable mission for which it was originally granted tax-exempt status. In particular, the Clinton Foundation's admitted failure to accurately report donations from foreign governments during Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State is an issue of great public importance. President Obama himself recognized the potential for a conflict of interest to arise, which is why he had the Clinton Foundation sign an agreement outlining how foreign donations were to be handled.
"We look forward to Commissioner Koskinen's response. The allegations swirling around the Foundation are very serious and should be thoroughly vetted."
Click here to read the full text of Blackburn's letter to the IRS.
* * * * *
May 19, 2015
The Honorable John Koskinen
Commissioner
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20224-0002
Dear Honorable Koskinen:
We write to ask that you review the tax-exempt status of the Clinton Foundation (hereinafter "the Foundation"). The Foundation maintains that "The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization."1 However, recent media reports have revealed that the Foundation failed to report millions of dollars in grants from foreign governments that it accepted while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State and that it facilitated private business transactions between foreign entities. As a result, given the substantial public interest involved, we feel a prompt review of the Foundation's tax-exempt status is appropriate to determine whether it is acting within the scope of its charitable mission.
First, the Foundation is required to annually file a form 990 series return with the IRS listing foreign contributions. Unfortunately, the Foundation failed to accurately report tens of millions of dollars in foreign government grants between 2010 and 2012.2 Foundation Acting CEO Maura Pally admitted in an April 26th blog post that " . . . our error was that government grants were mistakenly combined with other donations."3 Former President Clinton recently added that "people re-file their taxes all the time" and that the omissions were "just an accident."4
However, the Foundation apparently did report such information prior to 2010. The Foundation's failure to report the donations is problematic and deserves enhanced scrutiny given Mrs. Clinton's position as Secretary of State at the time.
Second, former President Clinton and Canadian businessman Frank Giustra currently serve as board members of the Foundation. An article titled "The Clintons, a luxury jet and their $100 million donor from Canada" appeared in the Washington Post on May 3rd and details their relationship.5 The article notes that Giustra has donated over $100 million dollars to the Foundation since 2005 and that "Clinton has also gained regular transportation, borrowing Giustra's plane 26 times for foundation business since 2005, including 13 trips in which the two men traveled together."6 The Post adds that Giustra "closed some of the biggest deals of his career in the same countries where he traveled with Clinton."7 Giustra joined the Foundation's Board of Directors in 2013. The nexus between the Foundation and Giustra's business ventures is unusual and raises a question as to whether Foundation activities were used as a pre-text to allow Giustra to gain access to foreign individuals or entities with a stake in his private business interests.
Given these widely reported allegations, we believe a review of the appropriateness of the Foundation's tax-exempt status is necessary. Proceeding under the cloak of philanthropy, the Foundation appears to have facilitated major private business transactions between foreign entities and also failed to report substantial foreign donations during Secretary Clinton's tenure at the State Department. These actions have created an appearance of impropriety and go behind the Foundation's pledge to act primarily in furtherance of charitable causes for which it was granted tax-exempt status.
We ask that you respond within thirty days of receipt of this correspondence. Please contact Charles Flint at 202-225-2811 with questions about this request. Thank you for your attention.
Marsha Blackburn
Member of Congress
Randy Neugebauer
Member of Congress
Trent Franks
Member of Congress
James Sensenbrenner
Member of Congress
Mark Meadows
Member of Congress
Mo Brooks
Member of Congress
Scott DesJarlais
Member of Congress
David Rouzer
Member of Congress
Dennis Ross
Member of Congress
Pete Olson
Member of Congress
Randy Hultgren
Member of Congress
Phil Roe
Member of Congress
Tim Walberg
Member of Congress
Ryan Zinke
Member of Congress
Diane Black
Member of Congress
Bill Flores
Member of Congress
Louie Gohmert
Member of Congress
Kay Granger
Member of Congress
John Ratcliffe
Member of Congress
Steve Chabot
Member of Congress
Lynn Jenkins
Member of Congress
Walter Jones
Member of Congress
Tom Price
Member of Congress
John Duncan
Member of Congress
John Shimkus
Member of Congress
Ann Wagner
Member of Congress
Roger Williams
Member of Congress
Barry Louderrnilk
Member of Congress
Jim Bridenstine
Member of Congress
Dave Brat
Member of Congress
Bradley Byrne
Member of Congress
Brian Babin
Member of Congress
Steve King
Member of Congress
Ted Yoho
Member of Congress
Randy Weber
Member of Congress
Stephen Fincher
Member of Congress
Tom Marino
Member of Congress
Pete Sessions
Member of Congress
Michael Burgess
Member of Congress
Michael McCaul
Member of Congress
Rick W. Allen
Member of Congress
Billy Long
Member of Congress
Dan Newhouse
Member of Congress
Chuck Fleischmann
Member of Congress
Steve Pearce
Member of Congress
Scott Perry
Member of Congress
Luke Messer
Member of Congress
Bob Goodlatte
Member of Congress
Sam Johnson
Member of Congress
Matt Salmon
Member of Congress
Jeff Duncan
Member of Congress
Kenny Marchant
Member of Congress
1 Clinton Foundation, Frequently Asked Questions, available at https://www.clintonfoundation.org/ways-give/make-planned-gift/frequently-asked-questions#faq.
2 Rosalind S. Helderman, Clinton Foundation will amend tax filings to reflect foreign giving, WASH. POST., April 23, 2015.
3 Maura Pally, A Commitment to Honesty, Transparency, and Accountability, April 26, 2015, available at https://www.clintonfoundation.org/blog/2015/04/26/commitment-honesty-transparency-and-accountability.
4 Jeremy Diamond, Bill Clinton On Clinton Cash Case: It Won't Fly, May 6, 2015, available at http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/06/politics/bill-clinton-cash-book-case-wont-fly/index.html.
5 Tom Hamburger, Rosalind S. Helderman and Anu Narayanswamy, The Clintons, a luxury jet and their $100 million donor from Canada, WASH. POST., May 3, 2015.
6Id.
7Id.
END OF FOOTNOTES
- AuthorsBlackburn, Rep. MarshaNeugebauer, Rep. RandyFranks, Rep. TrentMeadows, Rep. MarkBrooks, Rep. MoDesJarlais, Rep. ScottRouzer, Rep. DavidRoss, Rep. Dennis A.Olson, Rep. PeteHultgren, Rep. RandyRoe, Rep. David P.Walberg, Rep. TimZinke, Rep. Ryan K.Black, Rep. DianeFlores, Rep. BillGohmert, Rep. LouieGranger, Rep. KayRatcliffe, Rep. JohnChabot, Rep. SteveJenkins, Rep. LynnJones, Rep. Walter B.Price, Rep. TomDuncan, Rep. John J., Jr.Shimkus, Rep. JohnWagner, Rep. AnnWilliams, Rep. RogerLoudermilk, Rep. BarryBridenstine, Rep. JimBrat, Rep. DaveByrne, Rep. BradleyBabin, Rep. BrianKing, Rep. SteveYoho, Rep. Ted S.Weber, Rep. Randy K., Sr.Fincher, Rep. Stephen LeeMarino, Rep. TomSessions, Rep. PeteBurgess, Rep. Michael C.McCaul, Rep. Michael T.Allen, Rep. Rick W.Long, Rep. BillyNewhouse, Rep. DanFleischmann, Rep. Charles J.Pearce, Rep. StevanPerry, Rep. ScottMesser, Rep. LukeGoodlatte, Rep. BobJohnson, Rep. SamSalmon, Rep. MattDuncan, Rep. JeffMarchant, Rep. Kenny
- Institutional AuthorsHouse of Representatives
- Code Sections
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Document NumberDoc 2015-11943
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2015 TNT 97-33