Second informant claims felony charges were BLOCKED due to ‘political pressure’
The House Oversight probe is looking into whether Hunter Biden received preferential treatment in the investigation into his wrongdoings because of his father’s position
An IRS whistleblower claimed the U.S. attorney who ‘refused to bring charges’ against Hunter Biden for tax evasion donated to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Special Agent Gary Shapley made the allegation about U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves on Wednesday during a congressional hearing.
‘The Justice Department allowed the president’s political appointees to weigh in on whether to charge the president’s son,’ Shapley told the panel.
‘After U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves, appointed by President Biden, refused to bring charges in March 2022, I watched U.S. Attorney [David] Weiss tell a room full of senior FBI and IRS senior leaders on October 7, 2022, that he was not the deciding person on whether charges were filed,’ he told the committee looking into allegations the DOJ politically interfered with the investigation.
Graves’s donations, totaling $1,500, were given in April 2020 and May 2020 during the Democratic presidential primaries, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The revelation comes as another whistleblower said political pressure stopped felony charges as more evidence continues to trickle out about the Biden family and the apparent preferential treatment given to Hunter during criminal investigations.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley (left) and and Joseph Ziegler (right) present their testimony on how they were prevented from carrying out usual procedure when investigating Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden struck a deal with the DOJ , to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges, which allows him to avoid prosecution for a separate gun charge
‘There should not be a two-track justice system based on who you are and who you’re connected to,’ Shapley told the committee.
A White House spokesperson told Fox News, ‘Instead of wasting time on politically-motivated attacks on a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, the rule of law, and the independence of our justice system, House Republicans should join President Biden to focus on the issues most important to the American people like continuing to lower inflation, create jobs, and strengthen health care.’
The latest allegations come as the agent who handled the vast majority of the tax case against Hunter said he felt ‘handcuffed’ during the five-year probe and was blocked from pursuing any leads that may implicate Hunter’s father.
Joseph Ziegler, formerly known as Whistleblower X, is the second agent to come forward to allege preferential treatment in the high-profile case.
The 13-year veteran of the IRS, claimed the federal tax investigation into the president’s son ‘supported felony and misdemeanor tax charges’ rather than just the misdemeanor tax charges Hunter is scheduled to plead guilty to next week as part of a deal that allows him to and avoid prosecution for a separate gun charge.
‘When you’re prevented from going down certain roads, I guess I don’t know what could have been found if we were not hamstrung or not handcuffed,’ Ziegler told CBS News.
Ziegler worked alongside Shapley on the case, and identifies as a Democrat.
The whistleblower said he was told he would get in ‘hot water’ if he tried to speak with President Joe Biden’s adult grandchildren and was prevented from carrying out those interviews in his investigation.
Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (left) invited Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (right) to his hearing Wednesday to present what he found in his probe into whether the IRS is treating all Americans fairly
‘I’ve never been told that we could not approach someone to interview them as a part of an investigation,’ he told Congress, noting the abnormal treatment on the probe when compared to investigations of other Americans.
Christopher Clark, an attorney for Hunter Biden, has previously said that suggestions the investigation was not thorough are ‘preposterous and deeply irresponsible.’
Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said: ‘I know it was not easy to see – their testimony about the DOJ-FBI investigation confirms that there’s nothing normal about the Biden family.’
Ahead of Wednesday, Ziegler was only identified by the panel as a ‘criminal investigator’ and was referred to as ‘Whistleblower X.’
Ziegler insisted in his opening statement that he just wants American people ‘to know the truth’ about Hunter Biden’s special treatment.
While Shapley has appeared publicly to make his claims against the Bidens already, Ziegler remained anonymous as Whistleblower X until revealing his name and face for the first time on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon.
Oversight Chairman Comer described the findings in thousands of pages of Biden family financial records as ‘astonishing.’
‘What were the Bidens selling? Nothing but influence and access to the Biden network. This is an influence peddling scheme to enrich the Bidens,’ Comer said. ‘We need to know whether Joe Biden is compromised by these schemes and if our national security is threatened.’
IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler showed his face for the first time Wednesday after blowing the whistle on preferential treatment in the Hunter Biden case ¿ and previously only being identified as Whistleblower X
Ziegler said he is ‘no more credible than this man sitting next to me due to my sexual orientation or my political beliefs,’ when people started to claim he is more credible because he is a gay Democrat.
‘The American people deserve to know the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may be for either political party or those in power.’
Shapley and Ziegler claim that Hunter, 53, was given special treatment because of his father.
New revelations this week detail that a lawyer for the FBI told an agent investigating Hunter to dodge questions from the Oversight Committee regarding the First Son.
The agent, whose name was redacted, received the letter from FBI Counsel Jason Jones on Sunday – the day before they were set to testify before the Oversight Committee.
Jones told the agent to tell Oversight to ‘instead refer such questions to the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs.’
‘The Department expects that you will decline to respond to questions seeking non-public information likely covered by one or more components of executive privilege or other significant confidentiality interests, in particular information about deliberations or ongoing investigative activity in law enforcement matters,’ the lawyer added
‘The agent’s testimony is sickening and reveals the lengths to which the DOJ is willing to go to cover up for the Bidens,’ the Oversight Committee tweeted on Monday.
Democrats were quick to dismiss the agent’s claim – and said it’s common for the FBI and DOJ to disagree about how to proceed with an investigation.
Written by Alice Wright for the Daily Mail ~ July 20, 2023