(2011-2012) SIGNER REPORTS TIGTA COVER-UP TO FEDERAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION; FBI DOES NOTHING IN ANOTHER APPARENT COVER-UP

As discussed in “(2010-2011) U. S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) Office Commits Cover-Up of Signer Allegations,” I received no response to my August 2011 letters to J. Russell George or Treasury Secretary Geithner.  As TIGTA is the Treasury office that is responsible to protect U. S. taxpayers from IRS abuse by investigating “fraud, waste, and abuse” within the IRS, the question is raised as to what an American citizen is to do when the fraud office itself commits fraud.  Following some research, I learned that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an agency of the Department of Justice, is the office responsible for investigating government corruption.

On September 1, 2011, by telephone I contacted the FBI, where I was connected to an Agent to whom I summarized the history.  I referred him to donsigner.com, which contained the details and supporting documents.  He accessed my website as we spoke.  As the FBI Agent learned the magnitude of the IRS harassment and TIGTA cover-up, he remarked, “This could be a career story for an national investigative reporter.”   This comment appears to be a clear indication of his apparent shock at the history I described.  As we concluded the conversation, the Agent said he would read further on my website, and then contact the FBI’s White-Collar Crime Division.  It should be noted that the Agent did not reveal his name, as he stated is FBI policy.  As none of the other agents with whom I had contact in the future revealed their name, I could identify them only by date and time of my contact.

After I talked with the FBI Agent on September 1, the next day I received TIGTA Principal Deputy Inspector General Hungate’s evasive doubletalk August 29 letter discussed in the TIGTA section.  As the letter further confirmed my observations of a TIGTA cover-up, on September 6, I recontacted the FBI Agent I previously talked with (tracking him down by date and time of my call) and informed him of the letter.  The Agent informed me that he had referred the case to the FBI’s San Jose White-Collar Crime Division, which would review donsigner.com for information it needs.  In my September 9 letter to TIGTA J. Russell George, and September 10 letter to President Obama with copy to Secretary Geithner, I included the fact that I had reported the TIGTA cover-up to the FBI.  These letters were discussed in the TIGTA section.  I received no response from any of the addressees.

Following is the sequence of my initial report and subsequent efforts to obtain information on the FBI’s action on my report:

  • September 1, 2011: Initial telephone report to FBI discussed above.
  • Septmenber 6, 2011: Informed FBI of Hungate letter as discussed above.
  • September 14, 2011: As the only record of my complaint to the FBI was the telephone conversations with the Palo Alto agent, I prepared a written summary of TIGTA’s actions with supporting documents, and then took them to the San Jose FBI office on September 14.  I informed the Duty Agent that I had reported the issue on September 1, and that I had brought the printed documents to the office as a formal record.  The Agent asked questions about the history, but refused to accept the package I had prepared.  After my further attempts to persuade the Agent to take my information, he finally agreed to accept the short introductory cover letter, which may be viewed here, but not my detailed account of TIGTA’s actions or supporting documents that clearly proved a cover-up.  This indeed seemed strange and improper that he would refuse to accept the documentation of my complaint.
  • September 21, 2011:  On September 21, I attended a local Fremont event in which Daniel Davis,  an FBI Special Agent from the San Jose office, was a guest speaker.  After he spoke, I talked with him and informed him of my visit to the FBI office the week before, and asked him if he would be able to find the status and let me know, which he agreed to do.
  • September 29, 2011:  On September 29, Mr. Davis informed me that my report had not yet been reviewed for action to be taken, but confirmed that I had made the report to the right people.  He said that if I hadn’t heard from the FBI within a month or so, that I should make another personal visit to the San Jose office and seek an update.
  • November 18, 2011:  After hearing nothing further from the FBI, on November 18 I again visited the San Jose FBI office.  I asked the Duty Agent (a different person than I had talked to in the past) the status of my report.  His response was vague, but did not indicate that any action had been taken.  I handed him the package of documents that the September r4 Duty Agent had rejected.  He asked me the logical question of why he wouldn’t take them, to which I responded that I didn’t know.  He told me that he would read the package, and then call me the following week.  The package of documents I furnished the Duty Agent consisted of a summary of events, which may be viewed here, and 26 supporting documents.  The supporting documents in the package I furnished are contained in the Expanded Details “(2010-2011) U. S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) Office Commits Cover-Up of Signer Allegations.”
  • November 23, 2011:  As it was Thanksgiving week, after not hearing from the Agent I met with on November 18, I called and left a message with the receptionist.  She said the office would be open on Friday (the 25th) after Thanksgiving, so I asked that the Agent call me by that day as he promised.
  • November 25, 2011:  After not hearing from the Agent by 3:15 on Friday, I called and left another message with the same receptionist.
  • November 28, 2011:  After still not hearing from the Agent, I called and left a voice mail at 4:20.
  • December 1, 2011:  After still not hearing from the Agent, I called and left a voice mail for Daniel Davis, the Agent I had met at the Fremont dinner on September 21, and talked with again on September 29.  In my voice mail, I stated that the other Agent had not called me as he said he would do.
  • December 8, 2011:  After still hearing nothing from either of the Agents I had left voice mails for, it was obvious that I never would hear, and apparent that Agents had been instructed not to contact me.  On December 8, 2011, I sent a letter to San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Douglas explaining my unsuccessful attempts at obtaining the status, and seeking a response from her or a subordinate.  The letter to Ms. Douglas, as well as certified mail delivery confirmation, may be viewed here.  The San Francisco FBI office is responsible for other Bay Area FBI offices, including San Jose.
  • December 13 & 16, 2011:  I sent letters to Congressman Stark and Senator Boxer requesting their assistance in prompting an FBI investigation into the TIGTA cover-up of the IRS harassment, and attached the December 8 letter I had sent to Ms. Douglas.  My December 13 letter to Mr. Stark may be viewed here, and my December 16 letter to Senator Boxer may be viewed here.
  • January 19, 2012:  I received no response from my December 8 letter to Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Davis, nor subsequent letters to Congressman Stark and Senator Boxer.  As such, on January 19, 2012, I wrote to FBI Director Robert Mueller requesting his intervention to assure an investigation, with a copies to multiple other recipients including U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Congressman Stark, and Senator Boxer.  The January 19, 2012, letter to Mr. Mueller with copy to Attorney General Holder, along with certified mail delivery confirmations, may be viewed here.  Receipt of the letter to Mr. Mueller was signed for by R. Stuart, and to Mr. Holder by A. Prandy.
  • January 20, 2012:  On approximately January 26, 2012, I received a letter from Congressman Stark dated January 20, but postmarked January 25.  (His letter was presumably prompted by the receipt of the a copy of the letter to Mr. Mueller I e-mailed to a staff member of Mr. Stark’s on January 20.)  In the letter to me Mr. Stark stated that he had sent a letter to the FBI on my behalf, and also offered to forward any request I would like to address to the Congressional Committee on Oversight & Government Reform headed by Congressman Issa with regard to an independent investigation of TIGTA.  This letter from Congressman Stark may be viewed here.
  • January 23, 2012:  I received a copy of a letter dated January 23 from Eric Jose Vizcaino, Senator Boxer’s Director of Constituent Services, to Stephen Kelly, Assistant Director of Congressional Affairs, Federal Bureau of Investigation.  As with Mr. Stark, on January 20, I had e-mailed a copy of my letter to Mr. Mueller.  In his letter, Mr. Vizcaino requested that the FBI review and consider my case.  Mr. Vizcaino’s letter may be viewed here.
  • February 2, 2012:  I received a letter from Congressman Stark dated February 2, which stated that he had forwarded to Congressman Issa my January 26 letter requesting the Oversight Committee’s investigation of my allegations of a TIGTA cover-up.  These letters may be viewed here.
  • February 13, 2012:  I again visited the San Jose FBI office.  I identified myself to the receptionist and explained that I wish to get an update on the status of my case.  The receptionist pulled my file and then called the agent who I talked to in November, who responded to her that he couldn’t come out now.  She indicated that it was still pending, and hadn’t been assigned yet.  She asked if my phone numbers listed are still good.  She said I could call next time and not have to make a trip in.  I told her the November agent assured me he would call, then didn’t.  At this point, nearly six months had passed since I reported it on September 1, 2011.
  • February 17, 2012:  I called the San Jose FBI office and explained to the receptionist that I hadn’t heard from a Duty Agent as another receptionist had told me I would on February 13.  I also informed her that my Congressman and Senator had sent inquiries in late January.  She confirmed my phone number and said she would e-mail the Agent, as she hadn’t seen him that day.
  • March 27, 2012:  Congressman Stark forwarded to me a March 13, 1012 letter he had received from Kevin L. Perkins, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigations Division of the FBI.  Mr. Perkins’ letter responded to Mr. Stark’s January 20 letter on my behalf, and states in part, “Based on a review of the information your constituent provided, we are unable to determine if such a violation exists.”  It goes on to say that I should furnish any such information to the San Jose FBI office.  The letters may be viewed here.
  • April 2, 2012:  After receiving the letter from Mr. Perkins described above on March 31, I again called the San Jose FBI office.  I explained to the receptionist that I was calling as instructed by Mr. Perkins’ response to Congressman Stark.  She pulled my file, asked my phone number, then told me somebody would call me.  I explained to her that I had been promised that many times before, but it never happened.  She assured me that somebody would call.  This time, somebody (unidentified) actually did call me just before 5:00 that same day.  I briefly explained the reason for  the call, to which he responded that I need to call the TIGTA Internal Affairs Division (IAD.)  I then explained to him that it was TIGTA and its IAD that committed the cover-up the FBI should be investigating, and I believed that direction for the cover-up came from at least the top of the Treasury Department for political reasons.  I asked the Agent if he had read the report I furnished the FBI, to which he replied that he hadn’t.  I asked if he knew about the letters from Congressman Stark and the FBI’s Mr. Perkins, to which he said that he didn’t.  I told him I would fax the letters, to which he replied that he would read them and call me the next day.
  • April 3, 2012:  The Agent called me on April 3 and confirmed receipt of my fax the day before.  He said he had a message into the Treasury Department, but hadn’t heard back.  In the conversation I mentioned that I had talked to somebody at the TIGTA IAD.  He asked who, to which I replied that it was Kris Pasquale.  I gave the Agent Mr. Pasquale’s phone number, and he said he would call him.  I asked him if he had read the report I furnished the FBI, to which he replied that he hadn’t.
  • April 5, 2012:  The Agent again called me on April 5 and told me that he verified that Kris Pasquale was with the IAD (which I had already told him,) but he didn’t call him.  He said he could give me the IAD’s number, to which I replied that I had it, and reminded him that TIGTA’s and its IAD had committed the cover-up and should be the target of an FBI investigation.  In the conversation I mentioned about the “1203 violation” box being falsely checked “No,” to which he replied that it could have been an error.  (The false statement appeared forms executed by two different people, Belinda Faltz-Heath and Bernard Williams, five months apart.  Those could not have been errors.)  He said he would close out my file once again.  He said I should feel fortunate that the FBI had reviewed my file four times.  I told him I would fax another letter to him, which was the October 27 letter from TIGTA’s Joseph Hungate to Congressman Stark.  Later that day, I faxed the Agent that letter along with two others that appear elsewhere on donsigner.com, as well as my final commentary about that appalling nature of the actions of TIGTA and the FBI.  My memo, in part, addressed his comment about the “1203 violation” box check possibly being an error.  The cover memo of that fax may be viewed here.
  • April 10, 2012:  Senator Boxer representative Kathleen Brennan forwarded to me a copy of a March 13, 2012 letter Senator Boxer had received from the aforementioned Kevin Perkins.  The content of Mr. Perkins’ letter was identical to that sent to Congressman Stark.  The letters may be viewed here.

So, it was seven months from when I first reported the TIGTA cover-up to the FBI until it became obvious by Mr. Perkins’ letter to Congressman Stark and Senator Boxer, and my subsequent conversations with the San Jose FBI per the letter’s instructions, that the FBI had no plans to investigate the corrupt acts I clearly documented.  In my view, this is yet another cover-up of information that would be damaging to President Obama.

Of the many categories listed on the FBI’s White-Collar Crime web page, it appears that my case would fall under Public Corruption/ Government Fraud.  Another FBI web page goes into more depth beginning with, “Public corruption is a breach of trust by federal, state, or local officials—often with the help of private sector accomplices. It’s also the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority.”  I believe that this statement describes the situation both with the GM/IRS collusion, and the apparent TIGTA cover-up that followed.  The web page goes on to explain how the FBI investigates public corruption, stating in part, “We often work in conjunction with the inspector general offices from various federal agencies…”  In my case, it is the Inspector General’s office itself that committed a seemingly fraudulent act. Disturbingly, the FBI’s lack of response to me seems eerily similar to TIGTA’s avoidance of action on my well-documented complaint about GM/IRS collusion to harass me.  The FBI is within the Justice Department, headed by Attorney General Holder, and with no overlap to the Treasury Department.  The actions of each Department were eerily similar, with the only common person between the two departments being President Obama.

Three Scandals emerge in May 2013 with alleged ties to President Obama

In May 2013, a series of scandals emerged that all appear to protect or benefit President Obama politically.  These scandals are listed below, with the issues that critics charge:

  1. Benghazi bombing:  The terrorist bombing of a U. S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, which resulted in the death of the U. S. Ambassador and three other Americans.  Critics claim that, in reporting the event, top U. S. Government officials put forth a false “demonstrations opposing anti-Islamic video” story to cover up the known Islamic terrorist nature of the bombings.  The truth would have been damaging to the upcoming reelection of President Obama who claimed that the killing of Osama Bin Laden severely damaged such terrorist groups.
  2. IRS targeting of conservative organizations:  After initially denying allegations, evidence mounted and, under pressure, the IRS actually admitted to targeting organizations with terms in their names like “tea party” to request burdensome and intrusive information in order to delay approval of their tax-exempt status.  It eventually came out that this targeting began as early as 2010, and continued for quite some time leading up to election year 2012.
  3. Justice Department secret accessing of Associated Press telephone records:  Telephone call records of many numbers of the Associated Press and personal numbers of some reporters were obtained in April and May 2012 without the knowledge of the Associated Press.  The Justice Department claims this was done to root out leakers of classified information, but critics claim that it was done for political reasons, which includes the intimidation of the press.

In all of the cases, Congress has attempted to find out who was responsible, with the main questions being who knew what and when did they know it.  At least initially, documents released were very limited.  President Obama and staff, as well as other top officials, effectively claim to be ignorant of everything.  Of the three scandals, experts and polls of Americans unanimously agree that the IRS issue is the worst, as it touches all Americans. My case includes elements of the above scandals, namely IRS harassment, and government cover-up that protected President Obama politically prior to the 2012 election.  It proves that the average American taxpayer is vulnerable to IRS harassment.  It should further frighten all U. S. taxpayers that safeguards in place, in my case TIGTA and the FBI, to protect citizens from oppressive government can be silenced if the truth could be damaging to the President.  Regarding the elusive “who knew what and when” of the three May 2013 scandals, in my case all top government officials knew of the IRS harassment and TIGTA cover-up in 2011 or 2012, the same time frame as the three other scandals, as evidenced by my letters and certified mail delivery confirmations.  Based on those confirmations, following are the dates the following officials knew, or should have known, about the IRS harassment and TIGTA cover-up:

  1. August 9, 2011, 1:32 PM: TIGTA Principal Deputy Inspector General Joseph Hungate
  2. August 9, 2011, 1:32 PM: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George (also confirmed by TIGTA Communication Director Karen Kraushaar e-mail reading confirmation August 5, 2:25 PM Pacific Time, and TIGTA Sr. Advisor and Congressional Liason Judy Grady e-mail confirmation August 9, 10:08 AM)
  3. August 29, 2011, 7:14 AM: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
  4. September 19, 2011, 12:48 PM: Second letter to Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George (also confirmed by e-mail reading by Mr. George September 9, 2011, 2:40 PM Pacific Time)
  5. September 19, 2011, 2:58 PM: President Barack Obama
  6. December 12, 2011, 1:09 PM: FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Douglas
  7. January 25, 2012, 11:07 AM: U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder
  8. January 30, 2012, 5:22 AM: FBI Director Robert Mueller, III

The American system of checks and balances against an oppressive government includes TIGTA to monitor, among other things, taxpayer harassment, and the FBI to monitor, among other things, government corruption.  In my case, the safeguards Americans believe to be built into the system appear to have been silenced for political reasons.  This fact should send chills up the spines of all Americans, who should demand accountability and prosecution of those directing the harassment and cover-ups described herein.

 
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