A federal watchdog has determined that two journalist officials who testified in 2023 about wrongdoing in the Hunter Biden tax situation were poorly silenced and retaliated against.
IRS reporters Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler were mistreated by IRS superiors, according to the non-partisan research, for testifying about how IRS and DOJ officials restricted research measures during the investigation into Hunter Biden’s late fees.
The career democratic personnel at OSC that is looking into whistleblower retaliation has at last come to some conclusions. In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley ( R., Iowa ), Shapley’s attorney Tristan Leavitt wrote in a letter to OSC confirmed in a December 30, 2024 email to the whistleblowers ‘ counsel that it found the IRS improperly removed them from the Hunter Biden investigation as reprisal for their protected disclosures.
According to National Review, OSC is an independent national bureau “primarily responsible for handling whistleblower complaints and other prohibited staff methods.”
” However, SSA Shapley and SA Zeigler also endure continued retribution every day. Since SSA Shapley became a leak, the IRS has even bypassed him for several promotions even though he demonstrated the command, knowledge, and ability required for the jobs”, Leavitt wrote.
According to IRS management,” IRS management quietly backdated a request from SSA Shapley regarding an continued law enforcement operation as late as January 2025,” it is believed to have been done to cover management’s uncommon delays and give the impression that it was submitted at the last minute rather than a month prior.”
National Review information:
In October, the IRS presented Shapley with an order, demanding that he either take a punishment or withdraw from the company altogether, an act Lake considered obvious retaliation. Following scrutiny from congressional Republicans, the IRS resisted its decision not long after.
The House Ways and Means Committee received the detailed allegations along with a wealth of supporting documents. The agents ‘ testimony initially surfaced in the spring of 2023, and their testimony ultimately made up a sizable portion of the House GOP’s investigation into then-President Joe Biden.
