According to sources, on Monday, the IRS removed the "entire investigative team" from its ongoing tax fraud investigation involving Hunter Biden. The action is believed to be in response to alleged retaliation against the whistleblower who recently approached Congress, accusing the agency of a cover-up in the case, according to the New York Post.
According to a letter sent by the whistleblower's attorneys to congressional leaders, the removal of the investigative team from the Hunter Biden tax fraud probe was purportedly carried out under the instructions of the Justice Department, the outlet reported further.
“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,” lawyers Mark Lytle and Tristan Leavitt wrote.
Although the whistleblower, who has overseen the Hunter Biden probe since early 2020, has not publicly disclosed the identity of the first son as the target of the case that they claim is being concealed, congressional sources have confirmed it, The Post noted.
“On April 27, 2023, IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel appeared before the House Committee on Ways and Means. He testified: ‘I can say without any hesitation there will be no retaliation for anyone making an allegation or a call to a whistleblower hotline.’ However, this move is clearly retaliatory and may also constitute obstruction of a congressional inquiry,” the lawyers wrote.
“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," the letter continued.
“Any attempt by any government official to prevent a federal employee from furnishing information to Congress is also a direct violation of longstanding appropriations restriction. Furthermore, 18 U.S.C. § 1505 makes it a crime to obstruct an investigation of Congress,” Lytle and Leavitt wrote.
The legal team added: “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.”
Hunter Biden has been under investigation, supposedly, for years over alleged failure to pay taxes on millions he earned from selling his dad's name for acceorss, Republicans allege.
The Post noted further:
The first son wrote in communications retrieved from the abandoned laptop that he paid up to “half” of his income to his father, and Hunter frequently involved then-Vice President Biden in his international business relationships.
The whistleblower was ousted from the investigation, along with an unknown number of subordinates, at roughly the same time as the Justice Department released a long-awaited report by special counsel John Durham detailing bias in the FBI’s investigation of former President Donald Trump’s alleged links to Russia.
The whistleblower surfaced last month when Lytle informed Congress of their intention to provide information regarding "preferential treatment" in the Hunter Biden case. The whistleblower also alleged that Attorney General Merrick Garland provided false testimony to Congress, as Garland repeatedly assured lawmakers that Delaware US Attorney David Weiss has the authority to independently determine charging decisions in the investigation.
The informant, who is yet to testify at the Capitol, has already shared their revelations with the inspectors general at both the Justice and Treasury departments, The Post added.
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