The IRS agents who raised concerns about how the inquiry into Hunter Biden was proceeding were surprised by a congratulatory email from a supervisor after the first son pleaded guilty to a slew of federal tax charges last month, according to a report released Tuesday.
Journalist Catherine Herridge revealed the email and published video of an interview with IRS investigators Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who last year emerged as whistleblowers alleging the probe had been slow-walked by top officials in a way that could have precluded charges.
“I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all for your efforts in the investigation and conviction on the Sportsman investigation,” said the email, a copy of which Herridge posted to X with the names of the sender and recipients other than Shapley and Ziegler redacted.
EXCLUSIVE: Internal IRS email shows supervisor celebrating Hunter Biden conviction after whistleblowers allege IRS retaliated against them for exposing double standards and preferential treatment throughout investigation.
“Those are words that are not supported by the actions of… pic.twitter.com/wgrxGCQ3Uv
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) October 29, 2024
“I know this was multi-year, requiring significant sacrifices and dedication on behalf of you all. Thank you to your commitment to the mission, which culminated in a great conviction,” added the email, which featured the logo of the IRS Criminal Investigation division.
Herridge said in her video report that Shapley and Ziegler were “shocked” by the email. During the interview, she asked them to respond to what the email said.
“I honestly couldn’t believe that it happened,” Ziegler said. “I literally — the first person that I called was Gary, and I’m like, ‘Can you believe that this was sent?’”
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Shapley told Herridge: “Those are words that are not supported by the actions of the agency.”
After reading aloud the last sentence of the email’s message, Herridge looked at Shapley and said, “I almost see you rolling your eyes as I read this. Now you’re shaking your head.”
Shapley declared: “This to me was someone who knows that [an] IRS watchdog right now is looking into the way that they’ve handled this and they see the writing on the wall, and this really is an example of just covering their backside like a true bureaucracy.”
While Hunter Biden has sued the IRS over the alleged inappropriate release of confidential taxpayer information, Shapley and Ziegler insist they have followed the proper whistleblower procedures and recently filed a defamation lawsuit against the first son’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell.
The guilty plea in the tax case took place in California. Biden was also convicted this year in a drug case in Delaware. Charges in these matters arose following the collapse of what critics panned as a “sweetheart” plea deal in the investigation led by special counsel David Weiss.
During the interview, Shapley claimed the IRS had essentially sidelined him and that his career “is over” while Ziegler decried being “up against a machine that has millions of dollars, that has the ability to fight me and to really wear you down.”
Herridge’s video noted that the IRS did not respond for comment and Hunter Biden’s attorney did not answer questions before publication.
