There's Another Whistleblower

Tired of reading about the President Trump whistleblower complaint? Well there's another complaint involving Trump that kind of flew under the media radar, Business Insider reports. Turns out a federal worker presented "an unsolicited communication" on July 29 summarizing allegations of "inappropriate efforts to influence" the compulsory IRS audit of tax returns filed by Trump and Vice President Mike Pence—at least according to a letter from Rep. Richard Neal to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Aug. 8. Neal added that the "grave charge" underscored "the pressing need for complete and meaningful oversight" of the mandatory audit program. For more, including Trump's response:

• Release it? Neal says he's talking to lawyers about whether to release the whistleblower complaint. Revealing the complaint could help his lawsuit to obtain six years' of Trump tax returns, according to Bloomberg.

• Trump fires back: Trump's attorneys say the whistleblower accusations are irrelevant to obtaining his tax returns, per HuffPo. The committee "does not explain how these allegations are in any way related to its demand to see six years of tax returns and return information, let alone why only the tax returns and return information can satisfy its supposed legislative interest," they say.
• An interview: Neal says his committee is seeking an interview with the whistleblower, WBUR reports. But he won't say whether the complaint will affect his lawsuit or the impeachment inquiry.
• Little-noticed, at first: The complaint emerged in an obscure court filing that was part of the continuing legal battle over Trump's tax returns, CNN reports.
• 'Pretextual': In July, Neal sued Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig for the returns, but the administration refused, calling the request "pretextual" and saying Neal's committee just wanted "to make the President's tax returns public, which is not a legitimate legislative purpose."
• Is Trump hiding something? At the Washington Post, Catherine Rampell says it could be "legally dubious or even fraudulent" financial dealings or evidence that "Trump has been profiting off the presidency." But "we don't know exactly what he might be hiding."

(Trump fought back against accusations that he had manufactured $1.1 billion in losses.)