Years after multiple FBI corruption investigations into Bill and Hillary Clinton’s charity were quietly shut down, newly released records show the IRS under President Donald J. Trump’s first term opened a criminal tax investigation into the Clinton Foundation — only for the inquiry to abruptly go cold.

Internal IRS memos and emails reviewed by Just the News reveal that in early 2019, the agency appeared eager to pursue whistleblower claims against the foundation. By spring, however, agents cut off contact with the whistleblowers despite having requested and received thousands of pages of evidence.

The whistleblowers, John Moynihan — a retired DEA financial crimes analyst — and Larry Doyle — a corporate tax compliance expert — met with IRS criminal investigators between January and April 2019. They submitted nearly 6,300 pages of exhibits and filed multiple IRS Form 211 “Applications for Award for Original Information,” which could have entitled them to compensation if their evidence led to recovered tax revenue, Just the News reported.

Meeting notes show IRS agents initially displayed enthusiasm for the case. The whistleblowers were photographed, formally registered as cooperating informants, and asked to prepare witness lists and investigative roadmaps. Investigators even requested a server to store their files. At one point, according to Moynihan and Doyle, an agent remarked their documentation suggested “the entire enterprise is a fraud.”

Their submissions alleged that the Clinton Foundation misused charitable funds, commingled personal and foundation business, and operated as an unregistered foreign agent. By late February 2019, the whistleblowers say they were told the IRS could move forward on the basis of their material.

But within weeks, interest dried up. Memos later quoted agents repeatedly saying, “we can’t talk about the CF,” a dramatic reversal from earlier meetings. By July 2019, investigative activity had stopped entirely.

Freedom of Information Act records show internal confusion. In one email, IRS headquarters expressed surprise that Moynihan and Doyle were still meeting with agents months after the case was reportedly closed in 2018. Other communications referenced missing or misrouted whistleblower document packages.

Brian Della Rocca, the whistleblowers’ attorney, says his clients were inexplicably abandoned: “We know for a fact that an investigation was started into the claims because it was done before the claims were filed. Once received by the Whistleblower Office, the claims were shut down. We are beyond frustrated,” he told Just the News.

The dispute has since shifted to U.S. Tax Court, where Moynihan and Doyle have filed two whistleblower lawsuits, one tentatively set for trial in December.

The newly released records fit a longstanding pattern: federal agencies expressing interest in Clinton Foundation allegations but ultimately declining to act. The Hill previously reported that the pair filed over 6,000 pages of evidence with the IRS and FBI in 2017, citing possible pay-to-play schemes while Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State, improper foreign dealings, and financial irregularities.

Among their evidence was a 2016 interview with longtime Clinton Foundation CFO Andrew Kessel, who allegedly admitted he could not prevent Bill Clinton from mixing personal and charitable activities and that he “knows where all the bodies are buried.”

Moynihan and Doyle also testified to Congress in December 2018, arguing the foundation acted as an agent of foreign governments and should have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They alleged the charity collected $2.8 billion in revenue inconsistent with its nonprofit authorization and diverted funds from stated purposes such as the Clinton presidential library.

The Clinton Foundation has denied wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as politically motivated and attributing any compliance lapses to administrative issues. Neither the IRS nor DOJ has taken public enforcement action to date.

Why the 2019 investigation stalled remains murky. The records suggest field agents took the allegations seriously, but higher-level decisions curtailed the probe’s momentum. Upcoming Tax Court litigation may finally shed light on who made the call to halt the case — and why.