Warren Seeks Details From Donors to IRS Pick’s Dormant Campaign

Senate Finance Committee Democrats say donors to IRS commissioner pick Billy Long’s hibernating campaign fund could have been illegally influencing the former House lawmaker.

“This brazen attempt to curry favor with Mr. Long is not only unethical—it may also be illegal,” the lawmakers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in one of the letters seen by Bloomberg Tax that were sent Thursday. The letters suggest that the circumstances of the donations raise questions over whether they constitute a violation of federal anti-bribery laws.

Also at issue is the timing and size of the donations that were made to Long, who could soon lead the tax collection agency. Democrats asked donors why they gave, whether their donations were solicited, and whether they had matters currently pending in front of the IRS.

Long, a former Republican House member from Missouri who has a confirmation hearing with the panel May 20, hasn’t been on any ballot for several years but saw nearly $137,000 flow into his dormant campaign committee for a Senate seat in the first quarter of this year. He also used the funds to repay a $130,000 personal loan. Donors to his campaign included people associated with firms that promoted so-called sovereign tribal tax credits that the Treasury Department and IRS say don’t exist.

Warren signed the letters along with Finance ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The Democrats’ letter is the latest in a string of demands from Democrats pressing Long about his dealings with White River Energy Corp., which has been selling the credits to wealthy investors through a network of promoters.

Wyden led a May 12 letter pressing White River Chief Financial Officer Jay Puchir to explain his statements on a recording of a December investor call obtained by investigators that his contacts in the new administration will make sure the tax credits get the green light. White River accused Democrats of only being interested in the company after “it was discovered that IRS Commissioner-Elect Billy Long had made an insignificant amount of referrals of these credits to third parties.”

Long earned income from White River, according to his ethics filings, and several of his $2,000-plus donors listed their employers as White River, Nepsis, Inc., and Lifetime Advisors, which have promoted dubious tax credits.

Democrats sent one letter to attorney Mark Czuchry who they allege was Lifetime’s general counsel and briefly worked as a senior adviser at the Office of Personnel Management alongside Long.

Democrats also asked Czuchry whether he had any meetings with Long during which they discussed sovereign tribal tax credits and potential forthcoming IRS action regarding those credits.

An OPM spokesperson, where Long is an adviser, responded to a Bloomberg Tax request for comment that Czuchry is no longer working at OPM, but didn’t provide further comment.

The letters also were sent to Champion Health, Lifetime Advisors, Nepsis, Versatile Insurance Group, White River, and Tavola Group, companies that donors listed as employers when they gave to Long soon after he was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the IRS.

White River and most of those companies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gabriel Malavolti, a senior partner at Tavola Group, said his company hadn’t received the letter yet, but that Long was a family friend and they’ve had friends and family members run in politics and carry campaign debt.

“Helping him clear that out so he could start off the IRS job without that stress was an easy decision,” Malavolti said by email. “No one is expecting any goodwill from Billy at all—they just want a commissioner who is 100% focused and able to do the job the American people are paying him to do.”