Subject: Re: Taxes owed by the Truman Project to the Commonwealth of Virginia and potential lawsuit
From: "Rachel Kleinfeld" <[email-masked]>
To: "Mike Breen" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "john driscoll" <[email-masked]>, "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 15:11:41 -0700

Dear Mike and John,

I very much appreciate this stance, and am glad to hear of it.

Please provide me with any written documents you have provided to the
Commonwealth of Virginia regarding your understanding that there are no
back taxes owed by an entity with FEIN: 20-1597444, whatever the name.

I would also like to receive a legally binding statement from the Truman
Project's attorney that would solidify in a concrete manner the promise to
"stand behind" me should Virginia continue to pursue me personally for
these funds.

With appreciation,
Rachel

On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 2:48 PM, Mike Breen <[email-masked]> wrote:

> All,
>
>
> John and I discussed this immediately after being contacted by Rachel in
> the first instance. We do not believe that the organization has any
> liability whatsoever to Virginia for back taxes, given that the Truman
> Project has not issued a paycheck at all since we changed the paymaster to
> the Truman Center on January 1, 2015. We contacted the appropriate
> authorities in Virginia immediately after Rachel notified us of the issue,
> and are continuing to take all appropriate and necessary steps to resolve
> this error on the part of Virginia.
>
>
> John and I also agreed that, in the extremely unlikely event that the
> organization does have some potential liability, we will stand in front of
> Rachel both legally and financially. That understanding has not changed.
>
>
> Please feel very welcome to contact me with any additional questions or
> concerns. You all have my contact information, but just in case my cell is (603)
> 828-9550.
>
>
> I hope you’re all looking forward to a wonderful weekend.
>
>
> Best,
>
> Mike
>
> On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 2:06 PM, Rachel Kleinfeld <[email-masked]>
> wrote:
>
>> 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
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
>
> *Michael Breen*President & CEO
> Truman Center for National Policy | Truman National Security Project
>
> Office: 202.216.9723 x2325
> Cell: 603.828.9550
> @TrumanProject | @TrumanCenter
> www.TrumanProject.org | w <http://www.trumanproject.org>
> ww.TrumanCenter.org
>
>
>
> *Save the Date:* TruCon 2017 will be June 22-25 in Washington, DC.