Report: IRS Retaliated Against Hunter Biden Tax Case Whistleblowers

I know, I know — tell us something we don't know. Hunter's laptop and financial issues are old news, but as the tide changes in the United States, more rocks will be turned over, revealing the collections of insects hiding underneath them. 

On Tuesday, the watchdog group Empower Oversight sent a letter to Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Judiciary Committee. In the letter, the group's president, Tristan Leavitt, outlines how the IRS retaliated against IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joseph Ziegler, who alleged that the agency improperly removed them from the investigation of the Hunter Biden tax case. 

The agents claim they were removed as retaliation for "protected whistleblower disclosures." They were also removed from the IRS International Tax and Financial Crimes group. The agents filed complaints with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), as did Empower Oversight. Those complaints were filed in 2023. 

In the letter, Leavitt notes that on Dec. 30, 2024, the OSC confirmed via email that the IRS did indeed issue gag orders and removed the agents from the case as a retaliatory measure for their protected disclosures. Although the incident occurred 20 months ago, Leavitt adds that neither the IRS nor the Department of Justice has been held accountable for retaliating against the agents. 

Leavitt adds that the harassment of Shapley and Ziegler did not end with moving them from their roles. Shapley has been passed over for promotions despite his leadership qualities, competence, and knowledge. According to the letter, Shapley's job duties have been changed; he has faced undue scrutiny, has been isolated, and has had to deal with new requirements when requesting approval to perform his duties, including major case decisions and simple travel authorizations. 

Of note, the letter states that in January of this year, the IRS management covertly backdated a request by Shapley for an investigation. The reason for the move was to mask the delays by management and create the impression that Shapley had submitted a last-minute request. In reality, he had submitted it a month before. 

Once again, we see that the punishment is not just the process; it is an example to other federal employees within and without the IRS to ignore abuses of power. Leavitt writes:

This system of whistleblower protections is utterly broken. These dedicated public servants have done everything by the book, consistent with their oaths to uphold the law. Yet, they have been left twisting in the wind at the mercies of those who retaliated against them, waiting endlessly for administrative and legal processes that should have vindicated them long ago.

If real corrective action is not taken soon, the message to future whistleblowers will be crystal clear: keep your mouth shut. If IRS senior management can bully and ruin the careers of these public servants with no consequence for the retaliators and no meaningful remedy for the whistleblowers, no one will ever speak up again.

In the letter, Leavitt states that those who have retaliated against Shapley and Zeigler could be held accountable if there was better leadership at the IRS, adding that currently, there is no new leadership at the agency. To be fair, the new administration has only been in office since January 20, but hopefully, Trump and his team will turn their eyes in that direction soon.