By Steve Neavling
Two IRS whistleblowers alleged the agency recommended charging Hunter Biden with attempted tax evasion and other felonies and that the Justice Department hindered the criminal investigation into the president’s son.
Biden ended up entering a plea agreement that includes far less serious charges, and as a result, he’ll likely dodge jail time.
The two whistleblowers made the claims in private interviews with lawmakers, which were revealed in transcripts obtained by the media, including The New York Times and CNN.
According to the whistleblowers, the IRS recommended charging Biden with tax evasion and filing a false tax return, both of which are felonies.
One of the whistleblowers was identified as Gary Shapley, a 14-year IRS veteran who oversaw some of the investigation. The other whistleblower was not identified.
“I am alleging, with evidence, that DOJ provided preferential treatment, slow-walked the investigation, did nothing to avoid obvious conflicts of interest in this investigation,” Shapley told lawmakers.
Shapley also said Biden had invoked his father, who was out of office at the time, while negotiating a proposed energy deal with a potential Chinese business partner in 2017.
The IRS obtained a search warrant to obtain a WhatsApp message from Biden to Henry Zhao, the Chinese businessman. In a summary of the message, Biden said he was sitting with his father and that “we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.”
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” Mr. Biden wrote, referring to other participants in the proposed deal. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
Biden has long claimed that he was not involved with his son’s international business deals.
