The IRS had issued Gary Shapely an ultimatum: resign or be demoted.
After presenting Hunter Biden whistleblower Gary Shapley with an ultimatum: resign or be demoted, the IRS has agreed to hold off on taking action against him following an intervention by Republican lawmakers.
The office of special counsel, the executive agency tasked with handling whistleblower cases, wrote a letter to House Republicans, obtained by National Review, informing them that the IRS will be staying its ultimatum to either demote Shapley or have him resign from the agency.
“Regarding the October 29, 2024 Notice of Intent, we can now report that IRS agreed to temporarily stay the whistleblower’s response deadline and tenure expiration. As appropriate and consistent with the law and OSC’s policies, we will use all tools within our statutory authority to address allegations these whistleblowers bring to our office,” wrote acting principal deputy special counsel Karen Gorman.
The letter was sent Wednesday to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky,) Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R.,Mo.), the leaders of the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
“We’ve been informed the IRS has agreed to temporarily pause its latest threatening action against Gary Shapley. We won’t stop fighting for these brave whistleblowers, who exposed misconduct and politicization in the federal criminal investigation of Hunter Biden” the Oversight Committee wrote on X Wednesday night.
The high-profile impeachment inquiry focused primarily on Joe Biden’s troubled son Hunter’s foreign business dealings and the Justice Department’s long-running criminal investigation into Hunter’s taxes.
Shapley and IRS agent Joseph Ziegler came forward last year with explosive allegations of misconduct during the Hunter Biden case. The IRS whistleblowers provided congressional testimony and a trove of documents showing Justice Department officials slow-walked and obstructed investigative steps during the years-long Hunter Biden probe.
The IRS sent Shapley its ultimatum after the whistleblowers sat for an interview with veteran investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, one of the leading reporters covering the Hunter Biden saga. Shapley and Ziegler spoke to Herridge after Hunter Biden pled guilty to federal tax charges in September rather than facing trial in downtown Los Angeles.
“From the moment USA Weiss received access to SSA Shapley’s protected whistleblower disclosures and contacted IRS leadership, the IRS has treated SSA Shapley differently,” Shapley’s attorney Tristan Leavitt wrote in a letter asking House Republicans to intervene.
“Their illegal reprisal increased after SSA Shapley made clear he intended to blow the whistle to Congress and others. And it continues to this day, when the IRS knows it can retaliate against SSA Shapley simply by waiting out the clock for him to be forced into the position of resigning or being demoted.”
Comer, Smith, and Jordan quickly demanded the OSC seek a stay on the IRS’s actions against Shapley and a briefing on the OSC’s investigation into alleged retaliation against them. The OSC said it has done approximately two dozen interviews and reviewed thousands of pages of documents up to this point.
Special counsel David Weiss prosecuted Biden on the tax charges and federal gun charges in Delaware, upon which he was convicted in June. Both of Biden’s sentences are scheduled to take place next month. President Biden has said he will not pardon his son or commute his sentence, but it remains to be seen whether he follows through on that promise with his presidency concluding.
Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, to special counsel after a generous plea deal between Biden and his office fell apart last summer. Weiss was one of the numerous DOJ, FBI, and IRS officials House Republicans interviewed to confirm the IRS whistleblower allegations as part of the impeachment proceedings.
The inquiry also uncovered $27 million worth of payment from foreign sources to Hunter Biden and his business partners, and it revealed several interactions between then-Vice President Biden and his son’s associates.
Hunter Biden sued the IRS last year over alleged illegal disclosures the IRS agent made related to his tax returns. The whistleblowers are attempting to become part of the ongoing litigation and have pushed for its dismissal. Shapley and Ziegler have also filed a defamation lawsuit against Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell for publicizing letters that accused them of committing criminal acts.