Chris Lieberman, FISM News
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The IRS whistleblower who alleged political interference in the Hunter Biden investigation has come forward publicly for the first time, speaking in an interview with CBS on Wednesday night.
Gary Shapley, a 14-year IRS veteran, told CBS News chief investigative correspondent Jim Axelrod that he could no longer remain silent about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) interference in his investigation.
“When I took control of this particular investigation, I immediately saw deviations from the normal process. It was way outside the norm of what I’ve experienced in the past,” Shapley said. “There were multiple steps that were slow-walked at the direction of the Department of Justice.”
For more than three years, the Department of Justice has been investigating Hunter Biden for possible tax crimes. In his first interview, CBS News sat down with the IRS agent who is blowing the whistle on what he says was preferential treatment during a federal investigation. pic.twitter.com/XHFvZAy2I6
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 25, 2023
While Shapley has repeatedly declined to confirm the subject of his inquiry, citing tax secrecy laws, multiple outlets including CBS have verified that it is the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
Shapley was first appointed to lead the IRS probe in January 2020, but by June of that year, he began to raise concerns about irregularities in the investigation. “Each and every time, it seemed to always benefit the subject,” Shapley said. “I just couldn’t, you know, fathom that DOJ might be acting unethically on this.”
The situation reached a boiling point last October after Shapley met with federal prosecutors. “It was my red line meeting,” Shapley explained. “It just got to that point where that switch was just turned on and I just couldn’t silence my conscience anymore.”
COMING FORWARD
In April, Shapley’s lawyers wrote to Congress seeking to provide protected whistleblower disclosures. In the letter, he claimed to have evidence that would:
contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee, involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case, and detail examples of preferential treatment and politics improperly infection decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected.
Earlier this month, his lawyers again wrote to Congress claiming that the IRS had removed Shapley’s entire investigative team from the case in retaliation for his coming forward.
THE HUNTER INVESTIGATION
The IRS probe into Hunter Biden is part of U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ larger investigation of the president’s son. Prosecutors are currently weighing several charges to potentially file against Biden, including tax evasion and lying on documents during a gun purchase.
Shapley’s claims of DOJ interference contradict Attorney General Merrick Garland’s sworn testimony before Congress that he would allow Weiss to conduct his investigation into the president’s son unimpeded. In a March 1 Senate hearing, Garland said, “I promise to ensure that he’s able to carry out his investigation and that he be able to run it.”
While Shapley is a registered Republican and his lawyers have worked with Congressional Republicans in the past, Shapley stressed that his allegations are about justice, not politics.
“When I saw the egregiousness of some of these things, it no longer became a choice for me,” he told Axelrod. “When taxpayers are treated differently — and subjects of investigations are treated differently, I don’t see how it doesn’t affect the fairness of the system.”
Shapley is scheduled to testify behind closed doors on Friday before the House Ways and Means Committee, according to a letter from his lawyers.