A previously unidentified IRS whistleblower publicly told Congress on Wednesday that federal prosecutors investigating presidential son Hunter Biden were “hamstrung” by political pressure and called for appointment of a special counsel in the case.
Former IRS special agent Joseph Ziegler—a Democrat who identifies himself as a gay married man—previously gave anonymous testimony to the House Ways and Mean Committee.
In new testimony Wednesday, Ziegler made his identity known to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing on why a five-year investigation recently produced a Justice Department plea agreement with Hunter Biden.
“People are saying that I must be more credible because I’m a Democrat who happens to be married to a man. I’m no more credible than this man sitting next to me, due to my sexual orientation or my political beliefs,” Ziegler told the committee in opening remarks, referring to IRS colleague and supervisor Gary Shapley, the panel’s other witness.
“The truth is, my credibility comes today from my job experience with the IRS and my intimate knowledge of the agency’s standard and procedures,” he said.
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss reached a plea deal with Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, to charge him on two misdemeanor tax charges and a suspended sentence for lying on a gun purchase form.
This came after IRS investigators and federal prosecutors had previously determined that the younger Biden should face felony charges, Ziegler said.
“As I read the public documents of the Department of Justice action against Hunter Biden, there is nothing [saying] that Hunter Biden will be required to amend his false tax return for 2018—a false tax return that includes improper deductions for prostitutes, sex clubs, and his adult children’s tuition,” Ziegler said.
The two IRS whistleblowers said in previous testimony that Weiss–appointed by then-President Donald Trump and kept on board by the Biden administration for this probe—sought special counsel status.
This development came after federal prosecutors appointed by President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., and California refused requests from Weiss to bring charges against Hunter Biden in those jurisdictions. Although Weiss said in a letter to House members that he had independence in the probe, he said in a follow-up letter that he didn’t have prosecutorial power outside his jurisdiction.
“While the impression has been conveyed by the U.S. attorney in Delaware that he has similar powers to that of a special counsel on this case, free rein to do as needed, that was not the case,” Ziegler told lawmakers. “It appeared to me, based on what I experienced, that the U.S. attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited, and marginalized by DOJ officials, as well as other U.S. attorneys. I still think that a special counsel is necessary for this investigation.”
Ziegler also talked about his personal experience.
“I was raised, and have always strived, to do what is right. Although I do have my supporters, others have said that I am a traitor to the Democratic Party and that I am causing more division in our society,” he told the committee. “I implore you to consider that if you were in my position with the facts as I have stated them, ask yourself if you would be doing the exact same thing. I hope that I am an example to other LGBTQ people out there who are questioning doing the right thing at the potential cost to themselves and others.”
Ziegler added that he is “risking my career, my reputation, and my casework outside the investigation we are here to discuss.”
“I ultimately made the decision to come forward after what I believe were multiple attempts at blowing the whistle at the Internal Revenue Service,” he said. “No one should be above the law, regardless of your political affiliation.”
Shapley, Ziegler’s colleague, already had spoken in public interviews with media and in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee. Shapley said he had to come forward after he saw the Justice Department cross a “red line,” explaining:
The Justice Department allowed the president’s political appointees to weigh in on whether to charge the president’s son. After the United States attorney for D.C., Matthew Graves, appointed by President Biden, refused to bring charges in March 2022, I watched United States Attorney Weiss tell a room full of senior FBI and IRS senior leaders on Oct. 7, 2022, that he was not the deciding person on whether charges were filed. That was my red line.
Article cross-posted from Daily Signal.
He is a sexually sick person so I wouldn’t value anything he says.
So says the DemocRat
OK, Fatz, then listen to the other straight IRS agent who said the same thing.
Easy Peasy.
Question is will he spit out the truth? Or swallow it?
I would not be surprised if he is suddenly disappeared.
Either way that takes courage. It’s like losing your job over not taking the vax.
I am both disgusted and ashamed of what has happened to the country I spent 25 years defending thru Vietnam and Persian Gulf Conflicts. Never did I imagine that the same tactics used by dictators like Adolf Hitler would become the democrat party’s inspiration on how to attain total power in order to subjugate the citizens of the country I swore to protect. Biden and everyone who supports his use of the FBI, CIA, IRS and any other agency he needs to attack anyone he and the DNC sees as a threat to their goal of destroying what freedom U.S. citizens are traitors. The same democrat party that was once considered the party of the middle and lower class is now their biggest threat. However, thanks to a largely dumbed down government educated population who are easily fooled into believing the lies Biden and his fellow traitors spew simply because some bought and paid for shill of the democrat party says so on CNN or some other now state ran propaganda tool masquerading as a source of honest journalism. Voters for democrats are really no more than useful idiots who honestly have no idea what they are really voting for and while they think they are saving the world with their insane woke agenda all they are really doing is destroying the only remaining country where everyones opinion was once equally valued and heard without fear of having politicized FBI Jackboots knocking down the door to their home and terrorizing their spouse and children. This country was founded by some very wise men who wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights to ensure that what we now see happening every day in this country would never happen. Its obvious that our so called “elected” leaders are either too ignorant to read and understand those documents or they simply do not care if they trample them in order to carry out their heinous crimes against humanity. I think its both! This country’s “Freedom Clock” is approaching midnight and those days will be over for all of us if we don’t somehow manage to reverse the insane course we are headed in. There are some things about Trump I’m not fond of but they are truly insignificant and do not affect my belief that he is this county’s last and only hope. I have looked long and hard and I see and hear nobody who I believe has the ability and desire to do what is necessary to get us back on the path of freedom this country was set on nearly two and a half centuries ago. Trump is a fighter who is able to stand toe to toe with the dictators around the world who are trying to destroy the USA even if it means killing you and everyone you love. Think about that the next time you make a campaign donation or cast your ballot. What is the democrat alternative? A man who can’t walk unassisted for ten feet without getting lost or falling down? A man who sells his influence to the highest paying despot regardless of the potential harm doing so would inflict on our county or one of our few remaining allies? A man who is likely to die in office and leave the country to the whimsical musings of a cackling VP who has never made anything even slightly resembling a coherent statement? I hope and pray that voters will take their 2024 election choices serious and not just vote the way they are told they must in order to retain their “I’m a good person and I care more than you do” badge. If not, well I guess there is at least one advantage to being a senior citizen and a Christian…..I have a bug out plan to a place where I doubt I will ever run into the people who are responsible for the insanity that destroyed our country.