Originally published May 16, 2023 10:14 am PDT
In a move that a whistleblower has labeled as “clearly retaliatory,” the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reportedly disbanded the entire team of investigators looking into allegations of tax fraud against Hunter Biden, the son of the president.
This information was obtained by The New York Post from sources in Congress who confirmed the identity of the individual under investigation.
Hunter Biden, 53, is currently under scrutiny for allegedly failing to pay taxes on several millions in income, largely sourced from overseas.
The whistleblower, who has overseen the investigation into Hunter Biden since its inception in 2020, has not directly named the president’s son as the focus of the case.
However, his allegation of a cover-up has led to the disbandment of the investigative team, supposedly at the behest of the Justice Department.
Congressional leaders received a letter from the whistleblower’s lawyers, Mark Lytle and Tristan Leavitt, stating, “Today the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Supervisory Special Agent we represent was informed that he and his entire investigative team are being removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress. He was informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice.”
This move has been deemed as retaliation, contradicting the statement given by IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to the House Committee on Ways and Means on April 27, 2023.
Werfel had assured the committee, “I can say without any hesitation there will be no retaliation for anyone making an allegation or a call to a whistleblower hotline.”
The lawyers continued, explaining that their client was protected by law against retaliatory actions for his disclosures to Congress.
“Our client has a right to make disclosures to Congress … He is protected by 5 U.S.C. § 2302 from retaliatory personnel actions — including receiving a ‘significant change in duties, responsibilities, or working conditions’ (which this clearly is) because of his disclosures to Congress,” they wrote.
Furthermore, they stressed that any attempt to prevent a federal employee from providing information to Congress was not only a violation of a longstanding appropriations restriction, but also a criminal offense. “18 U.S.C. § 1505 makes it a crime to obstruct an investigation of Congress,” they added.
The legal team representing the whistleblower concluded by urging immediate attention to the matter, saying, “We respectfully request that you give this matter your prompt attention. Removing the experienced investigators who have worked this case for years and are now the subject-matter experts is exactly the sort of issue our client intended to blow the whistle on to begin with.”
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, is investigating the business dealings and influence peddling of the Biden family.
They have obtained extensive financial and bank records revealing a complex network of LLCs, attempts to conceal money sources, direct cash from China, and influence peddling in Romania.
Hunter Biden and other family members are implicated in the investigation, accused of receiving millions of dollars from foreign entities in China and Romania during Joe Biden’s vice presidency.
While these foreign payments raise questions about Hunter Biden’s business activities, the committee has not alleged any illegalities regarding the payments.