Yesterday, Shapley made his identity public after gaining notoriety during a CBS News interview. Today, the House Ways and Means Committee, headed by Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, will hear from the veteran IRS criminal investigations member in a confidential meeting.
After discussions between his attorney and officials from the House Ways and Means Committee, Shapley severed all communication with the Senate Finance Committee, another IRS oversight body. His rapid decision included cancelling an appointment with committee chair, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. While Shapley prepares to present his findings before the House panel, this sudden move underscores the complicated and contentious nature of the ongoing inquiry into Hunter Biden’s tax issues.
According to an insider within the Finance Committee who spoke with The Independent, officials from both Republican and Democratic factions met to discuss attorney Mark Lytle, who is representing Gary Shapley. Lytle, a former federal prosecutor, was under scrutiny in this meeting.
According to a source, members of the Finance Committee from both political parties had a detailed conversation with the attorney for an IRS whistleblower. The source explained both the Democratic and Republican Finance Committee staff had previously met for many hours with attorneys who were representing an IRS whistleblower.
The committee staff and the whistleblower’s attorney had agreed on setting up a face-to-face meeting with the whistleblower the following week. However, the whistleblower declined and didn’t want to schedule another meeting. A source confirms that Senator Wyden and his team are prepared to organize a meeting that follows the law on taxpayer data protection, but at the same time ensures a fair and thorough investigation.
A 14-year veteran employee of the Internal Revenue Service recently alleged that Hunter Biden was allowed to slow-walk through an inquiry involving potential criminal charges. In a public statement, Gary Shapley disclosed several investigative procedures that he claimed were never fully executed during a recent investigation. Shapley recalled the inquiry he led was peculiar, with changes to the usual workflow, which caused him to notice significant differences from previous cases. The IRS had been investigating tax fraud against Hunter Biden for over three years before the team was disbanded by request of the Department of Justice.
Since then, President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to defend itself from allegations of political bias by having the investigation’s jurisdiction moved to the U.S. Attorney for Delaware. Shapley maintained that the inquiry was subject to interference, despite its distance from the White House.
“We had been observing these inconsistencies in the investigating process for a couple of years. And I simply couldn’t imagine that the DOJ may be operating unethically in this case, he said.
Shapley clarified that his decision to come forward was not politically motivated. Instead, he simply wants to ensure that the tax agency treats Hunter Biden fairly, like any other American citizen currently under examination.
“I don’t involve myself in politics,” he emphasized. “It’s not something that interests me. My profession requires me to approach every investigation with impartiality and fairness, and I take my oath seriously.” Shapley will give a private statement before the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday. By submitting a letter to the Office of Special Counsel claiming “irregularities” in the inquiry and citing a “charged meeting” between Shapley’s team and the Department of Justice last October, his attorney has already established the groundwork for his presence.
