WASHINGTON — IRS supervisor Gary Shapley spent nearly six hours Friday testifying behind closed doors before Congress about an alleged cover-up in the criminal investigation of his eldest son, Hunter Biden.
The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee has given its Democratic minority even time to question Shapley’s allegations that prosecutors are delaying an investigation into a case five years ago.
Tax secrecy laws prevent Mr. Shapley from disclosing the details of the investigation, but his disclosure to Congress is legally protected.
Staff from each party were allowed to ask questions for up to an hour at a time. Neither side announced the key exchange immediately.
“Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley testified for nearly six hours today before the Democratic and Republican staff of the House Ways and Means Committee,” his lawyers told the Post.
“Both sides had an equal chance to ask any questions they wanted, and Special Agent Shapley answered all of their questions.”
Shapley has overseen the tax evasion investigation of Hunter Biden, 53, since January 2020, and on April 19, contacted congressional leaders to offer “preferential treatment” to Congress by Attorney General Merrick Garland. submitted evidence of false testimony.
The IRS last week dismissed Mr. Shapley and 12 of his subordinates from the case, which Mr. Shapley’s lawyers said was unlawful retaliation ordered by the Justice Department.
One of his subordinates who has been working on the investigation since the IRS began investigating it in 2018 emerged Monday as the second whistleblower. Although he has not arranged to testify before Congress, he said in an email to his boss last week that the prosecution was “acting inappropriately” and “we’ve been saying it for some time.” Stated.
Shapley, who has worked for the IRS for 14 years, said in a whistleblowing retaliation complaint filed with federal regulators: thing. “
His staff, who have worked for the IRS for 13 years, wrote that they were outraged at being suddenly removed from the investigation.
The case officer told his superiors, “We have spent thousands of hours working on this case, striving to complete 95% of the investigation, [and] You’re sacrificing sleep, vacations, gray hair, and more. ”
She added, “My husband and I (identifying me as the case attorney) have been publicly outed and ridiculed on social media for our sexual orientation, and have been ultimately excluded for always trying to do the right thing. , in my opinion unacceptable.”
The FBI team assigned to investigate Hunter Biden is reportedly frustrated that no charges have been filed against his eldest son. He reportedly borrowed about $2 million from Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris last year to pay off his arrears, but even doing so legally exempts him from the charges. isn’t it. First time non-payment.
Just a week after Mr. Shapley first contacted Congress, Hunter Biden’s lawyers met with senior Justice Department officials in what experts interpreted as a sign that an indictment decision was imminent.
Shapley’s lawyers tried to broker a deal with the Democratic-led Senate Finance Committee for either a bicameral deposition or a series of hearings on the same day, but after more than a month of deliberations. No agreement could be reached and a decision was made. Please proceed only with questions in the House.
“I don’t want to do any of this,” Shapley said in an interview with CBS Evening News on Wednesday at a controversial October meeting attended by a Justice Department tax attorney and an unnamed U.S. attorney. He said he felt compelled to do so after receiving the
Since he was put in charge of the case, “I immediately noticed a deviation from normal process. told to
Mark Lytle, one of the whistleblower’s attorneys, said last month, “What he went through was documented in such detail in emails and other correspondence that you could believe it or not. Regardless, his credibility really doesn’t matter.” Department of Justice. ”
Hunter Biden made millions of dollars during his father’s vice presidency and shortly thereafter from overseas operations in what Republicans call influence pitches.
Hunter’s past clients and associates include wealthy individuals from China, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Romania, Russia and Ukraine. Many of his deals remain opaque, but the details are recorded in files from Hunter’s abandoned laptop and bank files obtained earlier this year by the House Oversight Committee.
In an email he pulled from his former laptop, Hunter wrote that he had to share “half” of his income with Joe Biden, who, according to records, shared many of his son’s partners. It appeared to be written in pencil to meet and share 10% of the income. Proceeds from Chinese government-related partnerships under negotiation in 2017.
Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss is in charge of the Hunter Biden case. Weiss, a remnant of the Trump administration, was nominated for the post by state Democratic senators close to Biden.
Shapley alleges Garland misled Congress about Weiss’ ability to make prosecution decisions without the approval of the Biden appointees.
In addition to tax fraud, prosecutors are reportedly considering charges against Hunter with false charges of violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act, money laundering, and drug use on gun purchase forms.
The IRS supervisor testified before the Ways and Means Committee the day after the House Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department for records on the dismissal of the investigative team.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee, which is leading an investigation into President Biden’s role in the Biden family’s vast foreign dealings, said an informant allegedly linked Joe Biden to a “criminal plot” involving criminal gangs. He set a deadline for Tuesday to provide the files to FBI Director Christopher Wray. During his vice presidency, he accepted a $5 million bribe in exchange for U.S. policymaking.
