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WASHINGTON (AP) — Two IRS whistleblowers who testified publicly about investigations into Hunter Biden’s taxes have been promoted to new roles as senior advisers at the Treasury Department.
Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, two IRS employees who testified to Congress as Republicans reviewed the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son, say they were retaliated against for cooperating in the investigations.
Shapley and Ziegler say they were removed from the Hunter Biden case in December 2022 after they told their bosses that the Justice Department and former Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss had engaged in a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” and delaying enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Now, Shapley is being promoted to Deputy Chief of IRS Criminal Investigations and Ziegler is assigned to the secretary’s office as a senior adviser for IRS reform.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Tuesday that he planned to bring the pair into Treasury and “give them a year to investigate the wrongdoing that’s going on at the IRS.”
“We’ll learn what’s been going on at the IRS, what’s been wrong,” Bessent said. “How could this Hunter Biden nonsense have happened? And we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone again, whether they’re Republicans, Democrats or independents.”
The investigation into Hunter Biden ended with Joe Biden pardoning his son, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.
Hunter Biden had been set to stand trial last September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.
Several months earlier, Hunter Biden was convicted in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
Republican lawmakers celebrated the promotions of Shapley and Ziegler.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, “Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler put their entire careers on the line to stand up for the truth, and instead of being thanked, the Biden administration treated them like skunks at a picnic.”
“Far too many whistleblowers share a similar experience of retaliation. I hope today is the first of many redemption stories for whistleblowers who’ve been mistreated. By taking a stand for whistleblowers, President Trump and his Cabinet are ushering in a new era of transparency and accountability.”
Shapley and Ziegler said in a joint statement: “We appreciate the opportunity Secretary Bessent is giving us to utilize our skills and firsthand knowledge of the agency to further the work of the administration to root out waste and fraud from the federal government and make a difference.”
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