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| Testimony on Congressman Collins Insider Trading |
This blog post is an extract from a NY Post story by John Crudele.
We've made a few edits to keep it short, but the basics are all included.
We highly recommend you read the entire story at the link below.
Crudele advises he was able to vet the Whistle-blower,
and is satisfied the story is accurate.
For full story, click here
New York Post, John Crudele [15AUG2018]
Ever wonder how a Congressman or Senator [or IRS official]
who earns less than $200,000 per year,
can have an annual income of several million dollars,
and retire into a lifetime of extraordinary wealth?
The IRS reportedly tipped off members of Congress to corporate takeovers and other pending actions so the elected officials could profit from Insider Trading. Allegedly, higher-level employees of the IRS also used that information to enrich themselves.
[Congressman Christopher Collins testified that an indicted Congressman talked others into buying a pharmaceutical stock and pushed legislation to help it; his son's girlfriend was just nailed on Insider Trading charges.]
Until a few years ago Members of Congress were not barred from trading stock based on information they got while performing their public duties. However, following scandalous headlines in 2012
[you remember, when the News Media was credible], the practice was officially banned.
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| Mrs Peter Strzok - Deputy Director - SEC Enforcement |
One might guess that in addition to blocking investigations into Hillary Clinton's money laundering schemes, Melissa might also have blocked inquiries into Congressional Insider Trading in exchange for Congress supporting Strzok's illegal activities and ignoring the criminal activities of senior officials at the DOJ and FBI.
It was assumed that Members of Congress were just profiting from what they happened to learn while working on their Committees — e.g., perhaps a drug about to be turned down by the FDA, or that a company was exploring to see how regulators would feel about a merger.
However, what the Whistleblower alleges goes well beyond that.
[ The Chris Collins story provides further details on Congressional Insider trading ]
Did the Whistleblower report his findings to "authorities"?
He did, but was told to "get lost". Apparently Congress was making too much personal profit to have some reported blow their illegal enterprises.
[Ever wonder why no criminal charges were brought against Lois Lerner?]
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| Chief IRS Scoundrel Unprosecuted Sacrificial Lamb |
“In 2003-05 an official Memo was created within the IRS noting who was permitted to participate in ‘insider trading’. The memo noted that all IRS employees in the executive branch and those one step below (territory managers, etc.) were permitted to participate. I was below that rank by one step, i.e., a large-case manager at the IRS. However, as my evaluation showed, I was expected to inform my manager of any and all mergers.”
In fact, the Whistleblower says he was fired for not doing so and was later the subject of retaliation. That was a lot of years ago. And the only people who could properly look into something like this — and hopefully determine that it couldn’t possibly be true — would be in the IRS Inspector General’s [TIG] Office of the IRS. That’s who is supposed to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.
So, Crudele called the IRS Inspector General’s media contact, planning to give them the information, and perhaps the IG could convince the Whistleblower to come forward or obtain more details in exchange for Crudele's getting an exclusive on the story if the allegations were verified.
Crudele's exchange with the IG’s spokeswoman was unexpected:.
IG Spokeswoman: “Concerning..?”
Crudele: "A tip from a reader of mine about IRS wrongdoing”
IG Spokeswoman: “We get those on a regular basis; tell the tipster to contact the IRS Hotline.
Crudele: "The tipster doesn't wish to do that"
IG Spokeswoman: “All complaints are taken very seriously.”
Crudele: “Is there an insider trading exemption for officials in the IRS?”
IG Spokeswoman: [Crudele advised] she said there wasn’t such an exemption and sent him a brochure.
“Once again, thank you for contacting us. Let me know if we can help further”
Crudele: “I’m amazed at the lack of cooperation I am getting from you” commented, criticizing her laziness before finishing with “have a nice weekend".
IG Spokeswoman: “On background, we sorry you feel that way. We are not lazy…just careful”
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| Mergers & Acquisitions Insider Information = Big Bucks |
“So then one day I was informed of a merger between (two big companies), I was the Case Manager on that audit; I refused to inform my manager. Well, that was a sad day for my career. He (the manager) first produced a memo and then suspended me for failing to inform him of the merger so he could tell his supervisor. It seemed that the supervisor had planned to pay off his home mortgage with the merger information to the tune of $1 million plus.”
"There’s something you need to understand. The IRS places its workers permanently inside many companies where they continually receive privileged information while doing audits. So there’s plenty of money-making tips to go around. In addition my supervisor had planned on informing his manager who then could contact members of Congress so they could invest and profit from this information,. It was a way of securing a comfortable job on one of the boards like the Smithsonian once they retired.”
Crudele advises:
Consider how many individuals could have had access to this information and profited while the average American is told that it is “illegal.” The Whistleblower says he was pushed out of the IRS in 2004 and charges — trumped-up ones, he says — were brought against him. But he wouldn’t be surprised if this insider trading continued.
“Unfortunately I doubt that this has stopped. One cannot allow this to take place and then suddenly end it. These individuals had planned and budgeted for these events to fund their lifestyle. That type of income generator just does not end. It’s always hard to take away perks from employees. Just try stopping the free coffee at your office."
Assuming Mr Crudele's story of IRS corruption alarms you, you will appreciate his parallel tale of Congressional Insider Trading based on confidential information presented in Committee Hearings.
Mr Trump's "Draining of the Swamp" comes none too soon, and it will create some soon-to-be impoverished Congressfolk who have lived large off their corrupt practices -- but will likely face prosecution and substantial legal bills this Fall.
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Editorial Note:
We concur with Mr Crudele's story since we are somewhat aware that the IRS has not been pure as the driven snow; so, his tale of corruption comes as no surprise.
We are also gratified for confirmation on just how corrupt our bureaucrats, and politicians [of both Parties] are, and how they've gotten wealthy through their corruption; it might also explain why we so much inaction on their part in pursuing the corruption of government bureaucrats and law enforcement officials.
During our post-IC career, one contractor told much the same story based on his consulting time with the IRS. Among his lurid tales were IRS rooms full of tax returns which employees dutifully were flushing down toilets; and, then there was a unique scam the IRS operated in which they sent out a computerized letter advising taxpayers in the upper-six figure income range that they had underpaid by $800 to $1,800, correctly assuming that the victims would simply pay the extra rather than waste time reviewing their taxes or fighting the penalty.
[We were one of those unsuspecting victims in 1997, and we paid the extra $800.]
We were also targeted by Lois Lerner's team, apparently purely out of spite since we have not been involved in a PAC, although we do admit to being a bit Conservative. We fought back, threatening to bring the case public and to Congress during the Lerner hearings, and the IRS relented.
Finally, recognize that the IRS [and FBI] places their officers in US Embassies around the world, as part of the Country Team [Ambassador, CIA Station Chief, Defense, Political/Commercial, Economic, Agricultural Attache's] - each privy to sensitive Intelligence briefings on country and regional political and financial issues. Officially, the IRS Advisor role is to ensure US citizens and companies operating abroad pay their taxes. However, passing along sensitive Intelligence information to friends and supervisors is likely part of the abuse of the access the Whistleblower above has reported.
