Three House committee chairs issued a warning Tuesday to the Biden administration not to investigate or retaliate against the two IRS special agents who blew the whistle on Hunter Biden’s tax problems, helping derail what had been a sweetheart plea deal.
Reps. Jason Smith, chair of Ways and Means, Jim Jordan, chair of the Judiciary Committee, and James Comer, chair of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, said they fear the IRS and Justice Department have fallen victim to an “intimidation campaign” launched by Mr. Biden’s lawyers to try to discredit Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joseph Ziegler.
The chairs said recent court filings suggest the agents themselves are now under investigation, and the members of Congress said that seems like retaliation.
“Given that the whistleblowers’ disclosures were lawful, they are under investigation for their protected disclosures to Congress, the Committees are concerned that such an investigation is an attempt to seek retribution against these two brave whistleblowers,” the three chairs said in letters demanding answers.
They sent letters to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who is handling the prosecution of the president’s son.
The members of Congress asked to see an unredacted version of a court filing Mr. Weiss made last month that details the possible investigation.
“The Committees will not tolerate any retaliatory conduct by the Department against these or any other whistleblowers,” the lawmakers wrote. “Any and all attempts to intimidate or retaliate against Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler for their protected disclosures to Congress must stop.”
The Washington Times has reached out to the IRS for comment on the allegations.
Agents Shapley and Ziegler delivered stunning testimony to Congress last year when they detailed their yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden and what they said were unusual steps taken by higher-ups to thwart their probe and the eventual prosecution.
In particular they said that Mr. Weiss was blocked in his attempts to bring more serious charges, leading to a weak plea agreement that would have let Mr. Biden skate without any jail time for tax evasion and illegal gun possession charges.
After the agents’ testimony, the plea agreement blew up in a dramatic court hearing in Delaware.
Mr. Weiss then went back to the drawing board and returned with more tax charges and new gun charges.
His critics said he was bowing to pressure from Republicans with the new cases.
Hunter Biden, while having previously admitted to some of the tax and gun crimes in the never-finalized plea deal, has pleaded not guilty.
His lawyers have claimed he is facing selective prosecution.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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