When the GOP was investigating Hunter Biden, one of the biggest pieces to the puzzle was Gary Shapley, an IRS investigator who came forward regarding the obstacles of the investigation.
Trump raised some eyebrows by appointing Shapley as the acting boss of the IRS, but now he has just reversed that move.
Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler spent years working on the Hunter Biden IRS investigation, and a significant portion of that time was spent navigating roadblocks from those in power to prevent them from uncovering the truth.
Both agents claimed that the Department of Justice under Joe Biden had been regularly blocking them from evidence that would tie Joe Biden to Hunter’s business deals.
When the Biden camp tried to say that money being exchanged between Hunter’s business entities and the Biden family were loans, Ziegler testified, “In all the different scenarios – Burisma, CEFC, all those different scenarios – there was nothing to verify that they were loans in the evidence.”
Shapley explained why they thought Joe Biden was receiving money and the attempt to conceal it, stating, “When you see 10 held by H for the big guy and we have other correspondence where they are saying, don’t call dad – you know, call dad something else, call him – because we are trying to confuse or conceal who it is, that is issue for concern. And was there 10 percent that went to the big guy? We will never know because we weren’t allowed to investigate that.”
Donald Trump stunned the media last week when he announced his decision to appoint Shapley as his acting IRS commissioner.
The media and Democrats had an absolute fit, saying that Shapley would then use the IRS to target Trump’s enemies, but the administration pushed a different narrative.
On the appointment, the Treasury Department stated, “Gary has proven his honesty and devotion to enforcing the law without fear or favor, even at great cost to his own career. He’ll be a great asset to the IRS as we rethink and reform this crucial organization.”
Prior to the appointment, Treasury Secretary Bessent gushed over Shapley, stating, “It’s really a travesty what happened here, “These two gentlemen were dedicated civil servants trying to do their jobs, and they were blocked from doing that. We’re going to make sure that never happens again. Whether you’re related to the president, no matter how powerful you are, the IRS is going to behave fairly.”
Just days after being named acting IRS Commissioner, reports emerged that the administration was going to remove Shapley from the post.
While Bessent had praised Shapley, he was reportedly unhappy that his input had not been sought for the appointment, as Bessent wanted his preferred candidate in the post. Meanwhile, Elon Musk had celebrated the position.
Bessent seems to be the one who got into Trump’s ear, later announcing that Shapley would be removed and Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender would be installed. Bessent stated, “Trust must be brought back to the IRS, and I am fully confident that @TreasuryDepSec Michael Faulkender is the right man for the moment.”
He then gave Shapley a pat on the back on the way out the door, adding, “Gary Shapley’s passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways by which to create durable and lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our work, and he remains among my most important senior advisors at the @USTreasury as we work together to rethink and reform the IRS.”
