Warren, Wyden, Whitehouse Press Seven Companies on Questionable Donations To IRS Nominee Billy Long’s Defunct Campaigns
Senators Question Whether Donations Were Made to Influence Long’s Decisions as IRS Commissioner; Raise Concerns about Potential Violation of Federal Anti-Bribery Laws
“There appears to be no legitimate rationale for these contributions to a long-defunct campaign other than to purchase Mr. Long’s goodwill should he be confirmed as the IRS Commissioner.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to seven companies, detailing their concerns with unusually timed contributions made to the defunct 2022 Senate campaign committee of Billy Long shortly after he was nominated to serve as the next Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by President Trump.
“The size and timing of these donations raise serious questions about whether they were made in order to influence Mr. Long’s decisions if he is confirmed as IRS Commissioner and whether Mr. Long is capable of serving impartially in that crucial role,” wrote the senators. “The circumstances of these donations also raise questions regarding whether they may constitute a violation of federal anti-bribery laws.”
Mr. Long, who served as a Missouri congressman from 2011 through 2023, launched an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2022. During the course of that campaign, Mr. Long extended a personal loan of $250,000 to his campaign committee, of which $130,000 remained unpaid at the end of 2024.
Following his nomination to lead the IRS, between December 4, 2024 and the end of January 2025, these seven companies' executives, officers, or employees donated roughly $165,000 to Mr. Long’s obsolete Senate campaign and $45,000 to his leadership PAC. Prior to the announcement, Mr. Long’s campaign had not received a single outside contribution for at least two years. A review of Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings suggests that none of these seven companies’ recent donors to Mr. Long ever contributed while he was actually running for elected office.
Several of the firms that contributed to Mr. Long’s campaign committee were involved in an allegedly fraudulent tax credit scheme involving so-called “tribal tax credits.” Recent reporting suggests the general counsel of one of these firms, who also personally donated substantial amounts to the campaign, is currently serving with Mr. Long as a senior advisor to the Office of Personnel Management, raising further questions about the propriety of these contributions. The overlap between potential targets of IRS investigations and the list of recent donors heightens the potential for conflicts of interest and suggests that contributors to Mr. Long’s campaign may be seeking his help to undermine or avoid IRS scrutiny.
These donations appear to be a brazen and unethical attempt to curry favor with Mr. Long—and may also be illegal. If the campaign contributions were made with the intent to influence Mr. Long’s official acts as IRS Commissioner, they could potentially violate federal bribery laws.
“The American people deserve to know if the possible future leader of the IRS will administer the tax code impartially, or whether he can be influenced through campaign donations, indirect payoffs, or other corrupt means,” concluded the senators.
The senators demanded answers from Czuchry Law Firm, LLC, Lifetime Advisors, White River Energy, Nepsis, Inc., Tavola Group, Champion Health, Inc., and Versatile Insurance Services LLC by May 22, 2025.
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