Caterpillar, Renaissance Tax Probes Prompt Senator Queries
- Letters ask if political interference affected tax probes
- Wyden, Whitehouse seek information about Barr, Trump role
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Two Democratic senators are asking the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service if political interference by former President Donald Trump’s administration stalled tax investigations of Caterpillar Inc. and Renaissance Technologies LLC.
In letters sent Wednesday, Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse ask whether William Barr, who served as attorney general for almost two years under Trump, ever communicated with the White House or Justice Department about the grand-jury investigation of Caterpillar. Before serving as attorney general, Barr represented the company in a probe that burst into view with a high-profile U.S. raid on its headquarters in March 2017.