{"id":2321275,"date":"2024-08-08T14:45:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T18:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-whistleblowers-blast-irs-for-moving-to-block-them-from-lawsuit-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-08T14:48:49","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T18:48:49","slug":"hunter-biden-whistleblowers-blast-irs-for-moving-to-block-them-from-lawsuit-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-whistleblowers-blast-irs-for-moving-to-block-them-from-lawsuit-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunter Biden whistleblowers blast IRS for moving to block them from lawsuit &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"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\">30<\/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%2Fhunter-biden-whistleblowers-blast-irs-for-moving-to-block-them-from-lawsuit-washington-examiner%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=2321275&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>In\u200c a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-mcafee-sets-hearing-on-motion-to-dismiss-trump-case-on-first-amendment-claim\/\" title=\"Judge McAfee schedules a hearing for the motion to dismiss the Trump case based on the First Amendment claim\">recent legal development<\/a>, IRS agents Gary Shapley and\u200d Joseph Ziegler have accused the agency \u2062of attempting to block \u200btheir participation in a lawsuit filed \u200dby Hunter \u2064Biden against the IRS. The\u2063 agents, \u2064who have \u2063previously raised\u200c concerns about the IRS and DOJ allegedly\u200d stalling an investigation into Biden\u2062 to protect his father, \u2063President Joe Biden, \u200dseek to intervene in the lawsuit to\u2063 defend their actions\u200d and reputation, claiming\u2064 that \u200bthe IRS has retaliated \u2064against\u200c them. Biden&#8217;s lawsuit alleges that the agents illegally disclosed his confidential tax information, while the agents argue that their information was made public by\u200d Congress. They plan to ask \u200cthe\u2064 court to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety, \u200bhighlighting \u2062a \u200dperceived conflict of interest within \u2064the IRS. This case underscores\u200d ongoing \u2063tensions and accusations involving whistleblower protection and agency retaliation in high-profile investigations.  <\/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\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hunter Biden whistleblowers blast IRS for moving to block them from lawsuit<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1359749\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A pair of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/irs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Internal Revenue Service<\/a> agents once involved in the federal investigation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hunter-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hunter Biden\">Hunter Biden<\/a> accused their employer of improperly attempting to shut them out of a lawsuit between the first son and the IRS, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/757280182\/IRS-agents-reply?secret_password=KRapPl0IXu6FbpZNQrtV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>court papers<\/a> filed Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The two veteran IRS criminal investigators, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, argued through their attorneys that they should be permitted to intervene in the lawsuit that Hunter Biden brought against the IRS in September 2023.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When coupled with the fact that the IRS has already retaliated against Shapley and Ziegler, it is hardly a stretch to say the IRS has an inherent and institutional conflict of interest that at the very least should be remedied by permitting Shapley and Ziegler to intervene and to raise appropriate arguments for this Court&rsquo;s consideration,&rdquo; the attorneys wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Shapley and Ziegler approached Congress last year with allegations that the IRS and the Department of Justice Tax Division were slow-walking a yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden to protect President Joe Biden. Congress publicized the allegations and worked with Shapley and Ziegler to glean information about the federal inquiry into the first son.<\/p>\n<p>Hunter Biden later brought the lawsuit against the IRS, alleging Shapley and Ziegler did not partake in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/suspension-of-whistleblower-fbi-agent-illegal-kash-patel\/\" title=\"Suspension of Whistleblower FBI Agent Illegal: Kash Patel\">protected whistleblower activity<\/a> by bringing their claims to Congress but rather illegally disclosed his confidential tax information.<\/p>\n<p>Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden&rsquo;s attorney, pointed to numerous &ldquo;non-congressionally sanctioned&rdquo; media interviews Shapley and Ziegler gave. The pair of agents countered that any information they gave in the interviews was already made public by Congress and was therefore no longer confidential.<\/p>\n<p>Shapley and Ziegler&rsquo;s attorneys wrote that the pair want to intervene in the lawsuit to properly defend their actions and reputation because the IRS, in their view, has not done that.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Indeed, at its core, all that granting the pending motion does is enable this Court to consider arguments not raised by Hunter Biden or the IRS,&rdquo; the attorneys wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The attorneys said they would, if permitted to intervene, ask the court to toss out Hunter Biden&rsquo;s lawsuit in its entirety after the IRS only moved to dismiss a portion of it.<\/p>\n<p>Jason Foster, an attorney at Empower Oversight, a group that advocates on behalf of whistleblowers and has been aiding the IRS agents, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> the IRS&rsquo;s efforts to keep Shapley and Ziegler out of the lawsuit is another example of the agency&rsquo;s &ldquo;active retaliation&rdquo; against the pair.<\/p>\n<p>Foster gave examples of retaliation he said Shapley has already experienced from the IRS. Shapley&rsquo;s work circumstances have been &ldquo;substantially changed&rdquo; through &ldquo;subtle&rdquo; moves, such as being taken off the Hunter Biden investigation last year, needing added levels of approval on his work, and being passed over for a promotion, Foster said.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS, for its part, asked a judge to deny Shapley and Ziegler&rsquo;s intervention request, saying the agency is the one being sued for damages and, therefore, should have full control over the legal defense strategies in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Shapley and Ziegler &ldquo;do not have a legally protected interest in this case, and permitting them to intervene would unnecessarily delay this case and cloud the issues central to Plaintiff&rsquo;s claims against the government,&rdquo; attorneys for the IRS wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-asks-supreme-court-to-cancel-asylum-border-wall-arguments\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Asks Supreme Court to Cancel Asylum, Border Wall Arguments\">separate court filing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Shapley and Ziegler&rsquo;s attorneys shot back that &ldquo;unless the IRS&rsquo;s &lsquo;litigation strategy&rsquo; is not to prevail in this case, it begs the question of why the IRS opposes enabling the two people whose conduct is at issue to have a seat at the table.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The attorneys said the pair of agents&rsquo; reputations and careers are on the line as they believe Shapley and Ziegler could lose their jobs as one side effect of the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Outside of the lawsuit, Ziegler and Shapley have brought their concerns that the IRS has retaliated against them to the attention of the Office of Special Counsel in the form of a complaint, and that case is still pending.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1359749\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1359749\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two IRS agents involved in the federal investigation of Hunter Biden have accused their employer of trying to unjustly exclude them from a lawsuit that Hunter Biden filed against the IRS. In court documents submitted on Wednesday, veteran investigators Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, through their lawyers, argued that they should be allowed to participate in the lawsuit initiated by Hunter Biden in September 2023. They claimed that given the IRS&#8217;s previous retaliation against them, there is a clear conflict of interest within the agency that warrants their intervention to present relevant arguments for consideration by the court.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Shapley and Ziegler approached Congress with allegations suggesting that both the IRS and the Department of Justice Tax Division were deliberately delaying an investigation into Hunter Biden to shield President Joe Biden. These claims were made public by Congress as they collaborated with Shapley and Ziegler to gather information regarding the inquiry into Hunter Biden. Subsequently, Hunter Biden filed a lawsuit against the IRS, asserting that Shapley and Ziegler had unlawfully disclosed his confidential tax information instead of engaging in protected whistleblower activity when they reported their concerns to Congress. Abbe Lowell, representing Hunter Biden, highlighted several media interviews conducted by Shapley and Ziegler without congressional authorization.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Shapley and Ziegler maintained that any information shared during those interviews was already publicly available through congressional disclosures. Their attorneys emphasized that allowing them to intervene would enable proper defense of their actions since they believe the IRS has failed to do so adequately. They intend to request dismissal of Hunter Biden\u2019s entire lawsuit if granted permission to intervene.<\/p>\n<p>Jason Foster from Empower Oversight\u2014an organization supporting whistleblowers\u2014told Washington Examiner that attempts by the IRS to exclude Shapley and Ziegler represent ongoing retaliation against them. He cited specific instances where he believes Shapley&#8217;s work conditions have been adversely affected due to subtle changes like being removed from investigating Hunter Biden last year or facing additional approval requirements for his work.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS has requested a judge deny this intervention request on grounds it is being sued for damages; thus it should control its legal defense strategy fully. The agency&#8217;s attorneys argued that allowing intervention would unnecessarily complicate matters central to Plaintiff\u2019s claims against it.<\/p>\n<p>In rebuttal, attorneys for Shapley and Ziegler questioned why opposing their involvement would be necessary unless it indicated an intention not to win in court since these agents&#8217; conduct is under scrutiny in this case. They expressed concern over potential job losses stemming from this lawsuit affecting both agents&#8217; reputations and careers as well.<\/p>\n<p>Outside this legal battle, both agents have also lodged complaints about alleged retaliation with the Office of Special Counsel; however, those cases remain unresolved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2321276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23200741568408.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[32528,8362,4585,14982],"class_list":["post-2321275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-hunter-biden","tag-irs","tag-lawsuit","tag-whistleblowers"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23200741568408.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321275","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\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2321275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2321276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2321275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2321275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2321275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}