GOP Releases Hunter Biden IRS Whistleblower Documents (1)

Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee disclosed testimony from two IRS employees regarding allegations of the agency’s misconduct while investigating Hunter Biden, prompting calls for caution from Democrats.

The Ways and Means Committee met in a closed-door session to review information protected under the Internal Revenue Code Section 6103, which relates to the release of certain taxpayer information. Lawmakers examined allegations from two whistleblowers alleging the IRS mishandled a review of President Joe Biden’s son’s tax information, that they faced retaliation for coming forward, and claims the Department of Justice interfered with the IRS’s investigation, Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) said.

The information released by Ways and Means may aid other panels, such as the House Judiciary Committee, in their own oversight efforts, Smith said.

“We have special authority under 6103 that certain taxpayer information can only be made public by our committee,” Smith said. “That’s in fact what we did today, so that the process can continue, especially for the committees that might need information that we have.”

Republicans voted Thursday to release the whistleblower documents, while Democrats called the effort a political show, noting inspector generals at Treasury and the Department of Justice already are probing the allegations.

Biden earlier this week said he would plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes related to the failure to pay more than $100,000 in 2017 and 2018. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) noted that one of the whistleblowers wanted Biden to be prosecuted for those years.

“There’s really much smoke here and not much fire,” Doggett said.

Ways and Means GOP hasn’t requested any of President Biden’s tax returns, Smith said. The chairman didn’t comment on whether they might do so in the future.

Ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) told reporters after the meeting that the matter falls outside the tax panel’s jurisdiction, adding, “We are not a law enforcement committee.” Neal also dismissed comparisons between the GOP’s use of 6103 now to the Democrats’ own meeting on former President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

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While the committee has previously used Section 6103 to conduct oversight, the panel has started using it in a more political way, said Chris Armstrong, a partner at Holland & Knight and a former Republican staffer on the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees.

“What’s changed in the past decade is its use in investigations that are perceived as politically driven, from the Tea Party inquiry under Chairman (former Rep. Dave) Camp, to the review of President Trump’s tax returns under Chairman Neal, to the latest IRS inquiry under Chairman Smith,” Armstrong said. “In my view these have all been appropriate uses of the Committee’s ability to obtain tax return information under the statute, but there’s no question that there is a tit-for-tat here that is going to be with us for the foreseeable future.”

The committee released nearly 400 pages of transcripts of two IRS whistleblowers—Gary Shapley, an IRS criminal supervisory special agent, and an unnamed IRS criminal investigator. The whistleblowers named several Justice Department officials in blow-by-blow accounts of ways they allege the investigation—code named “Sportsman"—was derailed.

“The criminal tax investigation of Biden, led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, has been handled differently than any investigation I’ve ever been a part of for the past 14 years of my IRS service,” Shapley alleged.

Shapley described how he thought the investigation deviated from others, including “slow-walking investigative steps,” limiting lines of questioning, misleading investigators, and delaying action before elections, according to the transcript. Shapley said there was support for charging Biden with tax evasion and a false return in 2014, 2018, and 2019, and a failure to pay for 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Shapley also discussed retaliation he claimed he faced because of voicing his concerns about the investigation, saying he was passed over for a position.

The second whistleblower, who worked with Shapley, discussed similar issues he saw in the case, saying he had problems both with the prosecutors and internally within the IRS.

Ways and Means also disclosed a letter from IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel regarding the allegations. Werfel wrote June 7 that the relevant independent investigative watchdogs had been contacted, and emphasized that he and IRS management have a responsibility to protect whistleblowers.

Neal emphasized that the case is being handled by a Trump-appointee and that the committee should have waited until the watchdogs released their own findings.

“We must allow these law enforcement agencies to complete their work,” Neal said. “This includes interviewing more than 50 other government employees named in these transcripts and verifying the attached exhibits, including those produced by the Majority from unknown sources.”