IRS Whistleblower and Team Removed From Hunter Biden Case, Claims Retaliation And Obstruction From Biden Administration

The lawyers of an IRS whistleblower informed lawmakers in a letter that the whistleblower and his team were removed from the IRS's probe into Hunter Biden's tax evasion case and that they assign this act as one of retaliation and possible obstruction of Congress. 

According to Just the News, the IRS whistleblower received whistleblower protections from Congress and the Inspector General of the Department of Justice a number of weeks ago when he came forward claiming that there was political interference in the Hunter Biden probe that he was involved in. His lawyer wrote in their letter to Congress that "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." 

The letter continued by saying that "He was informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice." It further pointed out that "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." 

The lawyers recalled that the Commissioner of the IRS, Daniel Werfel, vowed under oath to Congress that when the commissioner testified that "I can say without any hesitation there will be no retaliation for anyone making an allegation or a call to a whistleblower hotline." This act of removal was, according to the lawyers, a "move is clearly retaliatory and may also constitute obstruction of a congressional inquiry."

As noted by a previous article in the DC Enquirer, this statement was made during an exchange with Jason Smith (R-MO), Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. That session was brought on by the previous letter sent by a lawyer of the whistleblower that revealed that "The protected disclosures [by the whistleblower] : (1) contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee [thought to be Merrick Garland], (2) involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case, and (3) detail examples of preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject [referring to Hunter Biden] were not politically connected."

   
Chairman Smith reacted to the recent turn of events by saying, "This most recent communication concerning allegations of retaliatory actions against a whistleblower, appears to contradict the sworn testimony by Commissioner Werfel who pledged that whistleblower protections would be upheld...Congress’s duty to hold government agencies accountable relies on the availability and willingness of individuals to speak out about wrongdoing...Not only does retaliation like this discourage whistleblowers, it can also rise to the level of an illegal violation of statutory protections for whistleblowers."

Smith further called for the IRS Commissioner to make good on his word and "quickly provide information to Congress in response to these allegations, and ensure that no action is taken to discourage those who attempt to shine a light on government misconduct."