Gary Shapley, an IRS supervisory agent, testified behind closed doors to Congress on Friday about an alleged Justice Department cover-up to shield Hunter Biden during a criminal investigation.
The Republican-controlled House Ways and Means Committee headed the panel of Republican and Democratic staffers who were given equal time to interrogate Shapley about his claims that prosecutors are dragging their feet on the 5-year-old case involving the son of President Biden, according to The Washington Times.
Following Shapley's 6-hour testimony, neither party issued statements about the exchanges with him. Wednesday, however, Shapley went public with his allegations in an interview with CBS News.
“There were multiple steps that were slow-walked — were just completely not done — at the direction of the Department of Justice,” Shapley said.
“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.”
Hunter Biden has been investigated by the federal government for several years for tax offenses, suspicious activity involving international business transactions, and for lying on a federal form when he purchased a firearm.
The 14-year IRS veteran told the publication that he began documenting his concerns regarding the Hunter Biden investigation five months after he was assigned to the high-profile case in June 2020.
Shapley noted that Hunter Biden benefited "each and every time" the investigation deviated from standard procedures: “It just got to that point where that switch was turned on. And I just couldn’t silence my conscience anymore,” he said.
“For a couple of years, we’d been noticing these deviations in the investigative process. And I just couldn’t, you know, fathom that DOJ might be acting unethically on this.”
He presumably disclosed more information to congressional investigators than he did in his news interview.
Due to tax privacy laws, the IRS employee-turned-whistleblower is prohibited from discussing specifics of the investigation in public. However, congressional disclosures are legally protected.
Shapley determined in October 2022 that it was time to report his findings. After a "charged meeting" with the Department of Justice and his team of 12 subordinates being transferred off the case, he became a whistleblower: “It was my red-line meeting."
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel has disputed to Congress that he acted in retaliation when he removed Shapley's team from the investigation.
“I want to state unequivocally that I have not intervened — and will not intervene — in any way that would impact the status of any whistleblower,” Werfel said in a letter to Congress.
