Gary Shapley, the IRS whistleblower who oversaw part of the agency’s investigation into the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, said on Tuesday that his inquiry was prevented from following certain leads that could have potentially led investigators to the current president.
Shapley, a current IRS agent who has worked for more than 14 years with the agency, made the additional allegations in an interview with CBS News more than one week after Hunter Biden struck a deal with U.S. Attorney David Weiss to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of tax evasion and resolve a federal firearm offense.
House Republicans criticized the plea deal as a “slap on the wrist” and pledged to continue their investigations into the president, his son, and allegations of interference by government agencies during the investigation into Hunter Biden.
President Biden, however, denied on Monday ever lying about speaking with Hunter Biden about his business dealings.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden expressed personal support for their son in a statement released by the White House after Hunter Biden’s plea deal was announced earlier this month.
“The president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement. “We will have no further comment.”
Here is what you need to know about the IRS whistleblower’s new allegations:
Allegations that the investigation was blocked from pursuing leads
Shapley said the investigation he oversaw into Hunter Biden was conducted in an irregular manner and would have ended differently for someone who did not have Biden’s connections.
“If this was any other person, they likely would have already served their sentence,” Shapley said.
He also alleged that while former President Donald Trump was in office, Shapley’s team was prevented from taking further measures that could have brought the investigation to Hunter Biden’s father, the sitting U.S. president.
“There are certain investigative steps that we weren’t allowed to take that could have led us to President Biden,” Shapley added. “We needed to take them.”
Shapley also claimed that the investigation into Hunter Biden should have resulted in additional charges, including felony counts.
“There were personal expenses that were taken as business expenses,” he said. “Prostitutes, sex club memberships, hotel rooms for purported drug dealers.”
More:Hunter Biden settles child support case in Arkansas, will give daughter multiple paintings
The GOP-controlled House is investigating Biden’s treatment
The House Ways and Means Committee, which has been leading an inquiry into potential interference during the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden, publicly released testimony on June 22 from two IRS whistleblowers who worked on the Biden case.
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who serves as chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, said in a statement that the whistleblowers “describe how the Biden Justice Department intervened and overstepped in a campaign to protect the son of Joe Biden by delaying, divulging, and denying an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes.”
Smith also indicated that his committee will continue its investigation into Hunter Biden and whether President Biden may be implicated in any interference.
“If the federal government is not treating all taxpayers equally, or if it is changing the rules to engineer a preferred outcome, Congress has a duty to ask why and to hold agencies accountable and consider appropriate legislative action,” he said. “The scales of justice must not be skewed in favor of the wealthy and the politically connected.”
Will this impact Hunter Biden’s plea deal?
It is still unclear if the new allegations will have any impact on Biden’s plea deal.
Hunter Biden’s plea deal was reached with David Weiss, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware, but a federal judge still needs to approve the agreement.
District Judge Maryellen Noreika scheduled a hearing in the case for July 26 in Wilmington, Delaware to formally process the plea agreement. It is unclear if Noreika might deem the allegations from IRS whistleblowers serious enough to reject the plea agreement.
Weiss has not publicly commented on the case since announcing the plea deal earlier this month.