Bill Barr accused of 'derailing' huge DOJ investigation after Trump appointment: report

Department of Justice employees are raising questions about a massive investigation into tax avoidance by heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar that fell apart after Donald Trump appointed Bill Barr to be his Attorney General.

According to a report from the New York Times, the DOJ was working hand in hand with the IRS on an extensive criminal investigation of the company only to be blocked from interviewing a key witness that helped cause the case to fizzle.

As a result, the Times is reporting, "The interview was never rescheduled, and the investigation would limp along for another few years before culminating, in late 2022, with a victory for Caterpillar. The Internal Revenue Service told the giant industrial company to pay less than a quarter of the back taxes the government once claimed that Caterpillar owed and did not impose any penalties."

Now questions are being raised about the timing of the interference that reared its head after Barr was selected by the former president.

ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why half of America does not care about Trump's crimes

According to the report, lawyers for Caterpillar "met with senior federal officials, including the Justice Department’s top tax official, Richard Zuckerman," to complain about the inquiries being made by investigators. Following the appointment of Barr, Zuckerman ordered agents to back off.

The Times is reporting that set off alarms within the DOJ.

Last year agent Jason LeBeau wrote to the department's inspector general, “It appears that Caterpillar was given special political treatment that the average U.S. citizen cannot obtain."

The report notes that Barr was affiliated with the company before his DOJ appointment and had argued that the DOJ and IRS should end the investigation.

Barr's earlier involvement raised eyebrows in the DOJ with the Times reporting, "In May 2018, Mr. Barr escalated the matter" in a letter that, "... argued that the investigation violated a requirement that federal criminal tax investigations be approved by the Justice Department’s tax division. And it took particular aim at Mr. LeBeau, saying he had a 'basic misunderstanding of the relevant tax rules' and was pursuing a 'conspiracy theory.' The attacks were an unusual effort to undermine the credibility of an individual investigator."

The report adds, "Kevin Sweeney, who spent six years in Justice Department’s tax division, said in a recent interview that the situation sounded 'very unusual' based on The Times’ description. 'I would not expect the tax division to stop an investigation based on representations made by defense counsel without first having a discussion with the lead prosecutor,' he said."

You can read more here.