Gary Shapley, the IRS whistleblower who oversaw part of the agency’s investigation into US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, said on Tuesday that his investigation had been blocked from following certain leads that could have potentially lead investigators to the current president.
Shapley, a current IRS agent who has worked for more than 14 years with the agency, made the additional allegations in an interview with CBS News more than a week after Hunter Biden reached a settlement with U.S. Attorney David Weiss to plead guilty to two counts of misdemeanor. tax evasion and solve a federal firearms offence.
House Republicans slammed the plea deal as a ‘slap on the wrist’ and vowed to continue their investigations into the president, his son and allegations of government agency interference in the Hunter probe Biden.
President Biden, however, on Monday denied lying about speaking with Hunter Biden about his business dealings.
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden expressed their personal support for their son in a statement released by the White House after Hunter Biden’s plea deal was announced earlier this month.
“The President and First Lady love and support their son as he continues to rebuild his life,” White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement. “We will have no further comment.”
Here’s what you need to know about the new IRS whistleblower claims:
Allegations that the investigation was prevented from pursuing leads
Shapley said the investigation he oversaw into Hunter Biden was conducted irregularly and would have ended differently for someone who did not have Biden’s connections.
“If it was anyone else, they probably would have served their sentence by now,” Shapley said.
He also alleged that while former President Donald Trump was in office, Shapley’s team was impeded Since take further action that could have led the investigation to the father of Hunter Biden, the incumbent US President.
“There are certain investigative steps that we weren’t authorized to take that could have led us to President Biden,” Shapley added. “We had to take them.”
Shapley also claimed the Hunter Biden investigation should have resulted in additional charges, including indictments.
“There were personal expenses that were considered business expenses,” he said. “Prostitutes, sex club memberships, hotel rooms for alleged drug dealers.”
More: Hunter Biden settles child support case in Arkansas and will give his daughter several paintings
GOP-controlled House investigates Biden’s treatment
The House Ways and Means Committee, which investigated potential interference with the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden, released testimony on June 22 from two IRS whistleblowers who worked on the Biden case.
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who serves as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement that whistleblowers “describe how Biden’s Justice Department stepped in and overstepped a campaign to protect Joe Biden’s son from delaying, disclosing and denying an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes. »
Smith also indicated that his committee will continue to investigate Hunter Biden and whether President Biden may be involved in interference.
“If the federal government does not treat all taxpayers equally, or if it changes the rules to engineer a preferred outcome, Congress has a duty to ask why and hold the agencies accountable and consider legislative action. appropriate,” he said. “The scales of justice should not be skewed in favor of the wealthy and the politically connected.”
Will this impact Hunter Biden’s plea deal?
It remains unclear whether the new allegations will impact Biden’s plea deal.
Hunter Biden’s plea deal has been reached with David Weiss, a Trump-appointed US attorney for Delaware, but a federal judge has yet to approve the deal.
District Judge Maryellen Noreika has scheduled a hearing in the case for July 26 in Wilmington, Delaware, to formally process the plea deal. It’s unclear whether Noreika could deem the IRS whistleblower allegations serious enough to reject the plea deal.
Weiss has not publicly commented on the case since announcing the plea deal earlier this month.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New IRS Whistleblower Allegations in Hunter Biden Investigation