IRS whistleblowers’ advocates claim Special Counsel Weiss is retaliating and misleading them in a smear campaign.
Lawyers representing two IRS whistleblowers who disclosed information about the Hunter Biden criminal probe to Congress have raised concerns over Special Counsel David Weiss and his team, accusing them of misleading the public and engaging in questionable conduct. This has sparked further scrutiny and unease among lawmakers on Capitol Hill as investigations into the Biden family’s actions and potential politicization of the Justice Department continue.
Empower Oversight, the legal group advocating for IRS special agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, alleges that Weiss’ office intentionally misrepresented facts in a federal court filing dated March 11. The filing suggested that an unnamed federal agency was investigating the two whistleblowers for misconduct when, in reality, the whistleblowers had sought a probe into the Justice Department and the IRS for retaliating against them due to their disclosures.
Last year, Shapley and Ziegler testified before Congress, claiming that political motivations influenced the handling of the Hunter Biden financial investigation by the Justice Department and the IRS. Their actions have since drawn criticism from both sides, according to House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.
Comer pointed out, “Special Counsel Weiss has been part of this smear campaign as he misled the public that the IRS whistleblowers were under investigation when in fact they were not. Ever since Special Counsel Weiss got caught trying to give Hunter Biden a sweetheart plea deal, he’s been trying to cover his tracks. There must be accountability for this misconduct.”
Empower Oversight is calling for investigations by two Justice Department agencies – the Office of Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility – into the behavior of Weiss’ office. They are also requesting the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent whistleblower protection agency, to clarify that the two agents are not under investigation.
According to Empower Oversight, the response from Weiss’ office is a clear indication of retaliation against the whistleblowers, prompting Shapley to file a whistleblower retaliation complaint with OSC. They are urging the DOJ to investigate whether Weiss’ office deliberately misled the public to retaliate against the IRS whistleblowers.
In 2023, Hunter Biden entered into a plea deal with Delaware U.S. Attorney Weiss, but new revelations from Shapley and Ziegler led to the deal being rejected by a federal judge. Subsequently, Attorney General Merrick Garland granted Weiss special counsel status, allowing him to pursue charges outside of his jurisdiction. Weiss then secured indictments in Delaware for a gun charge and in California for tax evasion.
However, Hunter Biden’s legal team moved to dismiss the tax case in California, arguing that the disclosures made by Shapley and Ziegler placed political pressure on prosecutors. The response from Weiss’ office on March 11 aimed to counter these claims but inadvertently implied an ongoing investigation into the whistleblowers.
Advocates for the IRS whistleblowers wrote to the Justice Department Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility, accusing Weiss’ office of distorting facts and misrepresenting the OSC’s investigation into the whistleblowers’ allegations of retaliation. The letter was signed by Empower Oversight representatives, including founder Jason Foster and attorneys Marke Lytle and Justin Gelfand.
In a separate correspondence to the OSC acting principal deputy counsel, the advocates stressed the importance of correcting the record and ensuring that the Justice Department does not mischaracterize the OSC’s work on probing the reprisal against the IRS whistleblowers in the Hunter Biden case. They also highlighted potential conflicts of interest with the appointment of Hampton Dellinger, a former colleague of Hunter Biden, to head the OSC.
The whistleblowers’ legal team continues to push for transparency and accountability in the ongoing investigations surrounding the Hunter Biden case, emphasizing the need to uphold integrity and fairness in the pursuit of justice.
