{"id":2248487,"date":"2024-05-20T09:35:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T13:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whistleblowers-file-bold-motion-to-intervene-in-hunter-bidens-lawsuit-against-irs\/"},"modified":"2024-05-20T09:41:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T13:41:10","slug":"whistleblowers-file-bold-motion-to-intervene-in-hunter-bidens-lawsuit-against-irs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whistleblowers-file-bold-motion-to-intervene-in-hunter-bidens-lawsuit-against-irs\/","title":{"rendered":"Whistleblowers Seek to Intervene in Hunter Biden&#8217;s IRS Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhistleblowers-file-bold-motion-to-intervene-in-hunter-bidens-lawsuit-against-irs%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2248487&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Late\u2064 Friday, IRS Agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler filed a motion to intervene in Hunter\u200d Biden\u2019s civil case against\u200b the IRS. The move aims to ensure the protection of the whistleblowers&#8217; interests amid concerns about \u2062the Biden administration&#8217;s Department of Justice defense \u200cstrategy. Shapley and Ziegler seek to defend against allegations of unlawful disclosures \u200cand protect their careers and reputations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Late Friday, IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and IRS Special Agent Joseph Ziegler filed a motion to intervene in Hunter Biden\u2019s pending civil case against the IRS, simultaneously also filing a motion to dismiss Hunter\u2019s lawsuit. The move is bold \u2014 possibly the first of its kind \u2014 but intervention may be the only way the whistleblowers can ensure the Biden administration\u2019s Department of Justice doesn\u2019t throw the case, to the detriment of Shapley and Ziegler.<\/p>\n<p>In mid-September 2023, following months of bad press, Hunter Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/9-key-points-from-trump-campaign-press-conference-on-challenges-to-election-results\/\" title=\"9 Key Points from Trump Campaign Press Conference on Challenges to Election Results\">legal team<\/a> went on the offensive, filing a two-count civil lawsuit against the IRS. While the IRS is the named defendant in the case, the complaint focuses on the conduct of Shapley and Ziegler, seeking to hold the IRS liable for the duo allegedly unlawfully disclosing Hunter Biden\u2019s tax returns and return information. Hunter\u2019s lawsuit further claims the IRS violated the Privacy Act by failing to ensure the security and confidentiality of the records. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-370285556\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3572e86e725655ab4402fd37df003877 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3572e86e725655ab4402fd37df003877\"><\/div>\n<p>Hunter\u2019s complaint named the IRS and not Shapley and Ziegler for a simple reason: The statutes on which the lawsuit is based do not allow individual IRS agents to be sued. That may protect Shapley and Ziegler from the expense of paying for a legal defense and potentially a monetary judgment, but it also prevents them from defending themselves against Hunter Biden\u2019s claims that they illegally disclosed his tax returns and tax information. <\/p>\n<p>Under normal circumstances, there wouldn\u2019t be anything for IRS agents to worry about, as they could presume the Department of Justice would zealously defend against accusations of misconduct or illegal disclosures. But this is the Biden administration\u2019s DOJ, and as of yet, it has done little to defend the case based on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/imperfect-call-biden-repeatedly-pressured-afghan-president-to-change-withdrawal-optics-whether-it-is-true-or-not\/\" title=\"Imperfect Call: Biden Repeatedly Pressured Afghan President To Change Withdrawal Optics, \u2018Whether It Is True or Not\u2019\">whistleblower protections<\/a> under which Shapley and Ziegler made their disclosures.<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, on Friday, attorneys for the IRS agents <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.259799\/gov.uscourts.dcd.259799.22.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed<\/a> a motion to intervene in the case. Federal rules of civil procedure allow a third party to intervene in cases under certain circumstances, and, in fact, in some circumstances, a third party has a \u201cright\u201d to intervene. <\/p>\n<p>In their motion, the whistleblowers claim a right to intervene, arguing they \u201chave a significant concrete interest in the outcome of this action: their careers, their reputations, and fending off adverse collateral consequences.\u201d For instance, if the DOJ fails to zealously argue their disclosures were protected whistleblower communications, leading to a judgment against the IRS, that could lead to an \u201cinvestigation and potential criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4e86943ebe4fb8ccdf9829a5bfede688 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4e86943ebe4fb8ccdf9829a5bfede688\"><\/div>\n<p>Further, Shapley and Ziegler argue they have a right to intervene \u201cbecause it has now become apparent that the IRS \u2014 individually and through its legal counsel at the Tax Division \u2014 will not adequately represent their interests in this proceeding.\u201d Here, the whistleblowers stress that the \u201cIRS failed to raise fundamental and critical arguments for total dismissal of this lawsuit \u2014 a basis set out with an abundance of legal authority in the attached proposed motion to dismiss\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, if they do not have a right to intervene, the whistleblowers maintain that the court should grant their motion under the rules governing permissive joinder.<\/p>\n<p>Both Hunter Biden and the IRS object to Shapley and Ziegler intervening in the lawsuit, meaning the court will likely establish a briefing schedule and hear arguments before ruling on the motion. In their opening brief, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boeing-whistleblower-found-dead-in-hotel-parking-lot-after-missing-court-appearance\/\" title=\"Boeing whistleblower discovered deceased in hotel parking area following court absence\">whistleblowers make<\/a> a strong argument for intervention, but the unique circumstances of the case and the lack of clearly analogous precedent make it difficult to predict how the court will rule.<\/p>\n<p>One thing is certain, though: The DOJ\u2019s representation of the IRS isn\u2019t nearly as forceful as the advocacy Shapley and Ziegler\u2019s attorneys provide. While the DOJ is content to let this case linger, and possibly even allow discovery, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-lawyer-says-legal-team-will-be-well-prepared-in-rest-of-impeachment-trial\/\" title=\"Trump Lawyer Says Legal Team Will Be \u2018Well Prepared\u2019 in Rest of Impeachment Trial\">legal team representing<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/independent-report-finds-ken-paxton-didnt-break-law-in-firing-former-officials\/\" title=\"Report: Paxton Didn't Break Law in Firing Officials\">whistleblowers filed<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.259799\/gov.uscourts.dcd.259799.22.2.pdf\">detailed<\/a> motion to dismiss that eviscerated Hunter Biden\u2019s lawsuit by establishing that the complained-of disclosures were all protected by the whistleblower provisions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-394546fe7d0e890ee07baf9773781049 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-394546fe7d0e890ee07baf9773781049\"><\/div>\n<p>A court opinion declaring as much and then tossing Hunter Biden\u2019s lawsuit against the IRS would be less than ideal for the president, however, especially in the waning days of the campaign season. No wonder, then, that the Biden administration\u2019s DOJ hasn\u2019t pushed that strategy. And that\u2019s precisely why the court should grant Shapley and Ziegler\u2019s motion to intervene.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9088fece7600a556269a05be11507f89 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9088fece7600a556269a05be11507f89\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Late Friday, IRS Agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler motioned to intervene and dismiss Hunter Biden&#8217;s IRS lawsuit. This bold move, possibly unprecedented, signals a significant legal development. Intervening could be crucial for all parties involved in this high-profile case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":2248488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-20-at-8.18.59%E2%80%AFAM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2248487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-20-at-8.18.59%E2%80%AFAM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2248487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2248488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2248487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2248487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2248487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}