Anonymous ID: 4016c7 May 22, 2023, 6:01 p.m. No.18888545   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8560 >>8575 >>8825 >>8958 >>9033

IRS whistleblower alleges sweeping retaliation over concerns about Hunter Biden investigation

 

The Supervisory Special Agent has filed a complaint contending that he was sidelined from the case over which he made protected disclosures.

 

An IRS whistleblower who questioned the propriety of Department of Justice officials handling a tax investigation into first son Hunter Biden has alleged that the agency retaliated against him and his subordinates for raising their concerns.

 

The Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) has filed a formal complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) contending that he was sidelined from the case over which he made protected disclosures, was passed over for promotion despite being the "clearly most qualified" candidate, and that he was recently formally removed from the same case in an alleged act of retaliation.

File

OSC letter IRS

 

The whistleblower's name remains undisclosed. He is represented by Mark Lytle, a former DOJ lawyer, and Tristan Leavitt, a former congressional investigator who serves as president of Empower Oversight.

 

The pair disclosed to Congress last week that their client and his entire team had been removed by the Department of Justice from the investigation in what they described as a retaliatory act. Just the News, in late April, reported that the whistleblower had alleged that federal prosecutors had engaged in "preferential treatment and politics" to prevent the younger Biden from facing tax charges.

 

Those allegations appeared to undercut testimony from Attorney General Merrick Garland, who had asserted that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss had full authority to pursue the case against the first son, without any politically motivated interference.

 

The OSC complaint is particularly shocking, given that IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, who on April 27, shortly after the initial whistleblower bombshell, told the House Committee on Ways and Means that the whistleblower would face no retaliation, saying "I can say without any hesitation there will be no retaliation for anyone making an allegation or a call to a whistleblower hotline."

 

Lytle and Leavitt, on Saturday, wrote to Werfel, questioning him as to the team's dismissal and its apparent contradiction with his vow not to pursue retaliation.

File

Werfel letter

 

"This action was inconsistent with your testimony to the House Committee on Ways and Means that there would be “no retaliation” against whistleblowers at the IRS," the pair wrote. "It was our understanding that although the IRS executed the reprisal, it did so on behalf of DOJ officials who had the motive to retaliate because it was the propriety of their own actions that had been called into question by the protected disclosures."

 

They then, however, asserted that they had learned of an IRS decision to pursue exactly such a retaliation against the agents shortly after Werfel made such testimony, which they attributed to a protected disclosure made directly to Werfel.

 

The pair pointed to an email from one of the client's subordinates, whom the agency removed from the case as well, in which the case agent informs the commissioner of his repeatedly attempts to make his superiors aware of problems affecting the investigation and contends that in removing him and the team, the agency had sided with the DOJ, whom they had alleged was behaving improperly.

 

"[T]he case agent had a right to expect that his email would be taken seriously, considered, and addressed professionally without retribution, as the law requires," wrote Leavitt and Lytle. "Instead, the IRS responded with accusations of criminal conduct and warnings to other agents in an apparent attempt to intimidate into silence anyone who might raise similar concerns."

 

They then reminded Werfel of the rights of whistleblowers and demanded that the IRS cease retaliating against whistleblowers.

 

In a separate, Monday letter, the attorneys wrote to key congressional leaders informing them that they had filed the complaint with the OSC and urged them to cooperate with one another to schedule voluntary testimony with the whistleblower.

File

Whistleblower attorney letter to Congress

 

https://justthenews.com/accountability/whistleblowers/holdirs-whistleblower-alleges-sweeping-retaliation-over-concerns

Anonymous ID: 4016c7 May 22, 2023, 6:03 p.m. No.18888557   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Students Sue Professor Who Allegedly Forced Class To Buy Subscription To Group That Donates To Planned Parenthood

 

Christian students filed a lawsuit against a former Michigan State University (MSU) professor who allegedly required her students to buy a subscription to her political organization that donated to Planned Parenthood, a complaint shows.

 

The lawsuit alleges that Amy Wisner violated the students’ First Amendment rights when she forced her class to purchase a $99 subscription to “The Rebellion Community” that reportedly donated to Planned Parenthood. The students are represented by legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom and filed the lawsuit against Wisner on May 18

 

“While Plaintiffs enjoy testing the mettle of their own views by exploring other ideas and perspectives in the context of their coursework — indeed, they believe this is part of the value of higher education — they do not wish to financially support the speech of others that contradicts their views, and they do not wish to become members of groups organized for the purpose of promoting messages that contradict their views,” the lawsuit reads.

 

Wisner reportedly wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post that all membership fees for Patriarchy Rebellion, a “safe place to coordinate our efforts to burn everything to the fucking ground” and linked to The Rebellion Community, were donated to Planned Parenthood. The plaintiffs seek a “declaratory judgement” that the requirement violates students’ First and Fourteenth amendment rights and an order requiring Wisner to return the collected funds.

 

“University professors can’t force students to finance and support political advocacy groups that express messages they disagree with. Nathan and Nolan simply want to get a business degree without being compelled to pay membership fees that will be donated to Planned Parenthood or support speech that directly contradicts their religious beliefs,” Logan Spena, ADF Legal Counsel, said in ADF’s Monday press release. “Michigan State officials have violated the First Amendment and federal civil rights laws by authorizing professors to force students to support speech antithetical to their deepest values and faith.”

 

MSU reviewed the matter earlier this semester and reimbursed students in the course who bought the membership.

 

“The university does not generally comment on pending litigation,” Dan Olsen, MSU deputy spokesperson, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “I can share that Amy Wisner is not currently employed by the university and the business college reimbursed students for the cost of their subscription.”

 

Wisner was a fixed-term faculty member at the MSU Broad College of Business. She is no longer listed on the university directory.

 

https://dailycaller.com/2023/05/22/students-sue-professor-who-allegedly-forced-class-to-buy-subscription-to-group-that-donates-to-planned-parenthood/

Anonymous ID: 4016c7 May 22, 2023, 6:23 p.m. No.18888655   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8825 >>8958 >>9033

Panama Canal Hit By Shipping Restrictions As Water Crisis Set To Worsen

 

Due to severe drought, authorities at the Panama Canal are set to impose new draft restrictions in the coming days. These rules, affecting one of the world's most crucial maritime routes, will force vessels to reduce cargo weight and incur higher fees.

 

Bloomberg cited canal spokesperson Octavio Colindres who said neo-Panamex container ships seeking to cross the canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans must comply with a maximum depth of up to 44.5 feet, down from 45 feet. This will force vessels to haul less cargo or otherwise transport fewer goods.

 

Panama Canal Ship Traffic

 

Colindres said a draft restriction of 44 feet would be imposed by the end of the month. A 50-foot draft is considered average for the canal during normal weather conditions, though a recent drought has left Lake Gatun, the largest of two lakes that feed the canal, with extremely low water levels.

 

Around 6% of all global maritime traffic passes through the canal, mainly from the US, China, and Japan. During the 2016 and 2019 droughts, the draft limit went as low as 43 feet.

 

Perhaps the onset of El Niño, a weather pattern that brings drier conditions across much of Central America, is partially responsible for arid conditions, which might worsen as the Northern Hemisphere summer is less than 30 days away.

 

"The lower-than-usual water levels in the Gatun Lake are causing severe draft restrictions on vessels transiting the Panama Canal," shipper Hapag-Lloyd told customers in recent weeks. The advisory was directed towards vessels traveling from East Asia to North America that must pay a surcharge after June 1 to traverse the canal.

 

Bloomberg warned of a possible shipping disruption if canal water levels continued to drop:

 

LNG carriers, which are highly dependent on the canal, are not as affected by the draft changes because the vessels have fewer draft restrictions than those carrying heavier industrial goods or commodities. But any bottlenecks are a cause for worry considering that US LNG export expansions are due to come online in the next five years.

 

Bloomberg added:

 

Asia-to-US cargo can take alternative routes through the Suez Canal. Or they can use ports in southern California, which would involve loading containers onto trucks or trains bound for Midwest and East Coast population centers.

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/panama-canal-hit-shipping-restrictions-water-crisis-set-worsen

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/panama-canal-hit-shipping-restrictions-water-crisis-set-worsen

Anonymous ID: 4016c7 May 22, 2023, 6:53 p.m. No.18888782   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Third Superseding Indictment Charges 22 Members and Associates of Violent Gang with Racketeering, Murder, Attempted Murder, Robbery and Drug and Firearm Offenses

 

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/third-superseding-indictment-charges-22-members-and-associates-violent-gang-racketeering