Politics
REPORT: Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Urged DOJ To Prosecute IRS Whistleblowers
Attorneys representing Hunter Biden are reportedly pressuring his father’s Department of Justice to bring criminal charges against the IRS whistleblowers who raised concerns over politically motivated interference in the case, according to a report from the New York Times.
In June, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to disclose testimony delivered by the whistleblowers to the public.
The IRS whistleblowers raised several concerns over the handling of the probe into Hunter Biden’s tax evasion and various business dealings, which ran for several years. Longtime IRS veteran Gary Shapley claimed that U.S. Attorney David Weiss — who has since been appointed as a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland — stated that he would not be the “deciding official on whether charges are filed.”
Shapley also testified that the team knew for months that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, was not going to indict Hunter Biden for the most serious offenses.
Despite guarantees from IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel that the whistleblowers will not face retaliation, Hunter Biden’s lawyers are reportedly pressing the DOJ to pursue criminal charges for revealing elements of the investigation to congress, the New York Times reported.
The Times further reported that the DOJ had no intention of filing any charges against the First Son until the whistleblowers came forward.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) slammed the alleged push to prosecute the whistleblowers as a blatant attempt at intimidation. “@nytimes is reporting that Biden family attorneys are now pushing the Biden DOJ to prosecute IRS whistleblowers for sharing information with Congress,” Comer wrote in post on X. “These brave whistleblowers testified under oath and deserve protection. This witness intimidation is unacceptable,” he added.
Gary Shapley and fellow IRS veteran Joseph Ziegler — a registered Democrat who felt compelled to come forward — also produced evidence of a WhatsApp message where Hunter Biden threatened to “destroy” a Chinese business partner if he did not provide payment.
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction,” Biden wrote in the message. “All too often people mistake kindness for weakness—and all too often I am standing over top of them saying I warned you. From this moment until whenever he reaches me.”
Joe Biden was reportedly in the room when the message was sent. “I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father. I sure hope whatever it is you are doing is very important,” Hunter Biden wrote in a follow-up message.