Opinion ID: 787764
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Taxpayer A

Text: 40 Coons made disclosures to District Director Ah Nee regarding the IRS's handling of the cases of several taxpayers. Coons complained that these taxpayers were receiving favorable treatment. In the case of Taxpayer A, Coons alleged that a former Regional Counsel for the IRS was intervening in the matter on the taxpayer's behalf, and that he was violating post-employment conflict of interest rules. The district court held that this was not a protected disclosure because it did not involve government misconduct. Whether or not a protected disclosure must implicate wrongdoing by current government employees, the Administrative Judge's finding that Coons's disclosures regarding Taxpayer A are limited to allegations about wrongdoing by a former employee is not supported by substantial evidence. 41 Coons clearly expressed concern that Taxpayer A's attorney was using his influence to corrupt the IRS's collection of taxes from Taxpayer A. Furthermore, Coons disclosed that various officials to whom he complained about the attorney's actions did nothing to address the problem. Current IRS officials have an obligation to enforce the post-employment ethics laws against former officials. See, e.g., 5 C.F.R. § 2637.101(c)(6) (Departments and agencies have primary responsibility for the administrative enforcement of the post employment restrictions found in the Act.). Thus, Coons's disclosures implicated current IRS employees who were conferring with Taxpayer A's attorney in violation of the postemployment restrictions of the Ethics in Government Act. 42 More importantly, it is clear from the record that Coons alleged that current IRS staff were sharing information illegally with Taxpayer A's counsel. For example, the Merit Systems Protection Board's April 11, 2000 decision states that Coons alleged that members of the Regional Counsel staff made unauthorized disclosures to [Taxpayer A's] attorney. Importantly, District Director Ah Nee admitted that Coons's disclosure addressed wrongdoing by current IRS employees. The following is an excerpt of Ah Nee's testimony: 43 Q: Did Mr. Coons ever raise any issues with you that suggested a perception on his part that there were irregularities or wrongdoing of any kind occurring with respect to the handling of the Taxpayer A case, other than the involvement of a former Regional Counsel? 44 Ah Nee: He — yes. He did raise to me the concern that there may have been disclosure by Regional Counsel.... 45 Q: In other words that, in fact, there had been an — an improper disclosure; is that correct? 46 Ah Nee: That's right. 47 The Administrative Judge's decision discusses neither Coons's disclosures regarding unauthorized communications between a current IRS official and Taxpayer A's attorney nor Ah Nee's admission that Coons disclosed these leaks. Instead, the decision states, counter factually, that Ah Nee testified that Coons's disclosures in the Taxpayer A case dealt exclusively with alleged, post-employment violations by the former R[egional] C[ounsel]. The Administrative Judge's finding that Coons's disclosures about wrongdoing in the Taxpayer A case were limited to alleged wrongdoing by a former employee of the agency, is not supported by substantial evidence.