Allegations of retaliation linked to Hunter Biden’s tax violation case are surfacing again, according to a recent letter addressed to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel by lawyers representing an unnamed IRS criminal Supervisory Special Agent (SSA).
This is the second IRS agent raising such allegations.
Attorneys allege an ‘act of retaliation’
The attorneys assert that “in an apparent act of retaliation aimed at some of those employees who had expressed concerns about the Department of Justice (DOJ) improperly allowing politics to infect its decisions,” their client and their entire investigative team were removed from a criminal tax case.
An agent who devoted five years to the investigation was also affected by this action.
In their letter, the lawyers referenced Werfel’s prior testimony to the House Committee on Ways and Means, in which he assured that there would be “no retaliation” against whistleblowers or anyone making an allegation at the IRS.
They highlighted the inconsistency of their client’s team’s removal with Werfel’s earlier statement.
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The reason for removal is unclear
The reason for the investigative team’s removal remains unclear.
However, the lawyers stated, “It was our understanding that although the IRS executed the reprisal, it did so on behalf of DOJ officials who had the motive to retaliate because it was the propriety of their own actions that had been called into question by the protected disclosures.”
The attorneys raised concerns that the IRS had “inexplicably decided to initiate additional reprisals against these special agents, apparently for a protected disclosure directly to you.”
They described this as “unacceptable and contrary to the law, which clearly prohibits it.”
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Hunter Biden under investigation for multiple finance crimes
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has been under investigation for possible tax fraud, lobbying crimes, and money laundering since 2018. He has expressed confidence in handling his affairs, stating he handled them “legally and appropriately.”
In an email sent to Werfel by the agent, there were mentions of repeated attempts to gain the attention of senior leadership about “certain issues prevalent regarding the investigation.”
The agent expressed frustration about being isolated and unheard, stating, “The lack of IRS-CI senior leadership involvement is deeply troubling and unacceptable.”
“When I said on multiple occasions that I wasn’t being heard and that I thought I wasn’t able to perform my job adequately because of the actions of the USAO and DOJ, my concerns were ignored by senior leadership.”
In response to these issues, the attorneys stated, “The IRS responded with accusations of criminal conduct and warnings to other agents in an apparent attempt to intimidate into silence anyone who might raise similar concerns.”
The attorneys concluded by urging Commissioner Werfel to “immediately cease and desist intimidating our client for simply exercising his Constitutional right to petition Congress and his statutory right against retaliation for doing so.”
They also asked Werfel to clarify supervisor communications to prevent potential intimidation of other whistleblowers.
The IRS issued a statement reinforcing its commitment to protecting whistleblowers, saying it “is deeply committed to protecting the role of whistleblowers, and there are robust processes and procedures in place to protect whistleblowers.”
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the issue.
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