Subject: Taxes owed by the Truman Project to the Commonwealth of Virginia and potential lawsuit
From: "Rachel Kleinfeld" <[email-masked]>
To: "john driscoll" <[email-masked]>, "Mike Breen TrumanCNP" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Paul Murphy" <[email-masked]>, "John Friedenrich" <[email-masked]>, "Sally Painter" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Pierre Chao" <[email-masked]>, "Craig Hanson" <[email-masked]>, "Matt Spence" <[email-masked]>, "Alvin Loshak" <[email-masked]>, "Mike Signer" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2016 12:06:59 -0700

Dear Mike and John,

I am writing for the second time regarding this tax matter. I have taken
the liberty of cc:ing the Board, as I believe these financial issues merit
Board attention, although I hope you have already discussed this with them
at that level.

As you know from my email a month ago, attached below, I received a letter
from the Commonwealth of Virginia indicating that the Truman National
Security Project owed taxes for an employee whose withholding had not been
withheld in 2015-2016. The letter indicated that as the name on the
founding documents, I could be held personally liable for the over $12,000
in taxes owed. I wrote to you asking for you to clear the matter up with
the Commonwealth and to provide them with updated information on the
leadership of Truman so that I was no longer attached to this FEIN. I asked
you for information regarding what you were doing so I could be certain it
would be resolved, and I also asked if D&O insurance could be extended to
me, should there be an ongoing issue.

I received an email from John containing two words, "on it" -  but heard
nothing from Mike, nothing about D&O insurance, and learned nothing about
what had been done to resolve the matter.

I have subsequently spent hours of my working days on the phone and on hold
with various Virginia tax bureaus attempting to remove myself from the
problem the organization has created.* I have just received a second notice
from the Virginia collections office. The Truman Project now owes
$12,417.30 in taxes to the Commonwealth of Virginia for failure to withhold
in 2015, and it has all been ascribed to my SSN, despite having nothing to
do with the organization at that time. *The letters are addressed to my
former married name, as that was the name under which I filed Truman's
founding documents.

This is an extremely serious matter. I can have a lien placed on my bank
account, my name goes on public, web-searchable records for not paying
taxes, it can affect my credit, and the documents are in force for 20 years
or until the taxes are paid. As this matter happened years after I had any
leadership role at Truman or was even employed by Truman, I clearly should
not be held liable. However, *until Truman pays its taxes to Virginia or
resolves the matter, I am left in an extraordinarily problematic position.*

I have spent a month waiting for you to resolve this and to provide me with
information that it is resolved. Now, I would like to receive information
more rapidly.

*I would like to receive, by Monday close of business, a scan of the check
Truman has sent or will be sending to the Commonwealth of Virginia to
resolve the matter, or a copy of the letter that Truman will be sending or
has sent, if you believe the Commonwealth is acting in error. If this has
already been taken care of, I would like to be sent documentation proving
that.*

In the meantime, I have spoken today to the attorney I retained when Truman
refused to pay me the $25,000 in back salary I was owed when, following my
time in leadership, I was working on an occasional, hourly basis and Mike
had suspended my paycheck for months due to the failure of the organization
to maintain good bookkeeping and cash flow. The attorney is back on
retainer, and *we will be filing suit should this matter not be resolved
shortly.* Since he already has ample record of the poor bookkeeping
practices that have, apparently, continued since I stepped down from
leadership, he has significant documentation for such a suit. I do not wish
to spend my holidays concerned that ongoing bookkeeping problems will
destroy my credit and that I will need to deal with liens and so on.

I am deeply sorry that it has come to this. Suing Truman does no one any
good, and it is hardly how I wish to be spending my time or using your
time.

*For years since stepping down from leadership, I have attempted to resolve
things quietly with Mike alone, and when that failed, with Mike and John
Driscoll, whenever things have arisen in which Truman's financial issues
have led creditors to seek funds from me. It has always been my aim to
protect the organization from any bad publicity that could arise from such
poor financial management.*

I cannot, however, see any other way to get you to pay your taxes and
provide me with the information to release me from these potential liens.
The recklessness with which the Executive Leadership has treated financial
matters has, frankly, been shocking to me. This is no way to run an
organization. And the organization's failure to communicate with me in any
way regarding this matter is no way to treat a founder or any fellow human
being.

I hope that we can resolve this by Monday and that you can provide me with
documentation that you are paying these taxes, as well as documentation
that you have asked the Commonwealth to remove my name from their records
connected to FEIN: 20-1597444.

Sincerely,

Rachel Kleinfeld

On Mon, Nov 14, 2016 at 6:18 PM, john driscoll <[email-masked]>
wrote:

> On it.
>
> On Nov 14, 2016, at 5:04 PM, Rachel Kleinfeld <[email-masked]>
> wrote:
>
> Dear Mike, John, and Paul,
>
> I know this is at the bottom of all our lists, given the horrific
> happenings of the past week (my take on those will go through this
> international syndicate tomorrow: http://www.themarknews.com/201
> 6/11/14/the-fruits-of-oligarchy/)
>
> *But on Saturday, I received a Notice of Personal Responsiblility from the
> Commonwealth of Virginia, saying that the Truman National Security Project
> owed back taxes of $12,369.15. *The letter claimed that I could be held
> personally liable under Section 58.1-1813 of the Code of Virginia. Having
> just bought a house and moved states in September, I don't have that sort
> of money laying about - nor am I keen on paying withholding for employees
> after my tenure there!
>
> So - I have contacted the state of Virginia to try to determine what is
> going on but have not yet heard back. The letter was mailed to an address
> in Virginia I have not lived at since 2004, and using my previous married
> name, which I haven't used since 2005, so it took a month to reach me - it
> was mailed on October 11 and required a response by October 24. I assume I
> am being contacted at that name and address because that is where I may
> have filed some early papers for the organization - but until I talk to
> them, I don't know whether I can actually be held liable or not.
>
> *Meanwhile, apparently there is an employee or employees from Truman in
> Virginia who the state believes have not been withheld properly. The
> assessments are from 1/1/15-7/31/16, all well after my tenure at Truman -
> and there seem to be missing returns as well as unpaid taxes.  *
>
> I've attached the letter and the list of taxes. I assume they would have
> contacted you before going after me, so can you let me know:
> 1) What dealings you have had with Virginia regarding this issue?
> 2) Whether you will be paying these taxes?
>
> *Meanwhile - if I can be held liable, we need to change that immediately.* *Mike
> and John - might it be possible to ask if Harmon Curran can look up that
> statute and determine my liability? *When I was there, we had D&O
> insurance to cover just this sort of thing - I realize I am no longer
> covered by that, but hope that you can extend this as a courtesy.
>
> With appreciation, and with you all in national sorrow,
> Rachel
>
>
>