IRS whistleblowers Greg Shapley and Joe Ziegler testified about their experience looking into Hunter Biden’s tax crimes in front of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday, July 19. The two detailed a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” into Biden.
“Based on this experience, I am here to tell you that the Delaware [U.S. Attorneys Office] and the Department of Justice handling of the Hunter Biden tax investigation was very different from any other case in my 14 years at the IRS,” Shapley said in his opening statement. “In this country, we believe in the rule of law, and that applies to everyone. There should not be a two-track justice system depending on who you are and who you’re connected to. Yet in this case, there was.”
One of Shapley’s most detailed claims accused Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss of asking for special counsel status in order to bring the tax cases against Hunter Biden in jurisdictions outside Delaware. Weiss and the Justice Department have denied that, saying he had “full authority” and never sought to bring charges in other states.
Ziegler also described his frustrations with the way the case was handled. He laid out several examples of prosecutors placing “unnecessary approvals and roadblocks from effectively and efficiently investigate the case.”
“I can recall wanting to interview and get records from Hunter Biden’s adult children and members of the Biden family. There were expenses paid for the adult children, as well as potential credit card expenditures and Venmo payments, which were deducted on Hunter Biden’s 2018 tax return,” Ziegler said in his opening statement. “[Assistant United States Attorney] Travis Wolf told us it ‘will get us into hot water if we interview the president’s [adult] grandchildren.’ This, again, was abnormal and a deviation from normal procedure.”
The IRS whistleblowers testified after Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor tax charges in what Republicans have derided as a “sweetheart” deal. House Republicans are deepening their own investigation, making broad claims of corruption and wrongdoing by the Bidens.
“The White House and Democrats would have Americans believe that our investigation is based on five years of conspiracy theories. But we have facts, and new evidence continues to be uncovered by our committee revealing the first family’s corruption,” House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said. “The Bidens have put themselves first and Americans last. We will continue to follow the money trail and provide the answers, transparency, and accountability that Americans demand and deserve.”
