WASHINGTON — House Republicans released testimony Thursday from two IRS whistleblowers who allege that the Justice Department interfered with their yearslong investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter — a charge the department swiftly denied.
The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Republican Rep. Jason Smith, voted to publicly disclose congressional testimony from two former IRS agents who worked on the federal investigation into the younger Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings.
“Whistleblowers describe how the Biden Justice Department intervened and overstepped in a campaign to protect the son of Joe Biden by delaying, divulging and denying an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes,” Smith, R-Mo., told reporters.
The testimony from the two individuals — Greg Shapley and an unidentified IRS agent — detailed what they called a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” and delaying enforcement actions months before elections. But it’s unclear whether the conflict they describe amounts to internal disagreement about how to pursue the wide-ranging probe or a pattern of interference and preferential treatment. Department policy has long warned prosecutors to take care in charging cases with potential political overtones around the time of an election, to avoid any possible influence on the outcome.
