An IRS veteran who blew the whistle on preferential treatment in the investigation into Hunter Biden asserted that the case involving the president’s son was not conducted as normal.
Former IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley told CBS News on Tuesday that he was repeatedly prevented from taking the necessary – and routine – steps when it came to Hunter’s case.
He said this was even happening when he was working under the Trump administration.
Conduct uncovered during the five-year investigation could have resulted in additional charges, he claimed.
Shapley, who worked for the agency for 14 years, helped oversee the investigation into the president’s son and is raising questions over alleged special treatment throughout the probe.
‘We have to make sure as a special agent for IRS Criminal Investigation that we treat every single person exactly the same,’ Shapley said in an interview with CBS chief investigative correspondent Jim Axelrod. ‘And that just simply didn’t happen here.’
IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley (pictured) told CBS News that Hunter Biden did receive special treatment – and said he was prevented from taking the routine steps during the investigation into the president’s son
Hunter reached a deal to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses and face probation for lying on a federal form to purchase a gun, which will see him likely avoid jail time. The deal was slammed by Republicans as an obvious show of preferential treatment for President Joe bBden’s 52-year-old son
The comments come after documents were released last week showing Hunter, 53, reached a deal with federal investigators that will see him avoid jail time. The president’s son will plead guilty to two tax-related misdemeanors – as well as take probation for lying on a federal form to purchase a firearm.
‘Based on my experience, if this was a small business owner or any other non-connected individual, they would have been charged with felony counts,’ Shapley detailed.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri released last week transcripts of congressional interviews with two IRS whistleblowers, including Shapley.
Both Shapley and the other agent questioned whether the U.S. attorney overseeing Hunter’s case was even able to bring charges he saw fit.
Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware David Weiss asserted in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee weeks ago that he was granted ‘ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges.’
House Republicans released on Tuesday more WhatsApp messages Tuesday they say were written by Hunter when he was working on a business deal with a Chinese energy company.
In messages from August 2017, the first son pushed that $10 million needed to be invested annually into the joint venture with CEFC China Energy, and called a $5 million proposal ‘new to me’ and ‘not acceptable, obviously.’
The House Oversight Committee’s Twitter account said that Hunter was messaging Gongwen Dong, a CEFC China Energy associate who used the nickname ‘Kevin.’
‘I’m tired of this Kevin,’ Hunter said. ‘I can make $5 million in salary from any law firm in America. If you think it’s about money, it’s not. The Biden’s (sic) are the best at doing exactly what Chairman wants from this partnership. Please let’s not quibble over peanuts.’
The next day one of Hunter’s shell companies, OWASCO PC, was given a $10,000 payment from CEFC, the House Oversight Republicans said, sharing a receipt.
Hunter Biden checked a box on a gun purchase form asserting he was not using or addicted to drugs – a claim that directly contracted the timeline he detailed in his book
House Republicans on the Oversight Committee released on Tuesday fresh messages from Hunter Biden, pictured arriving back in D.C. from Camp David Sunday, that show some of his demands as he tried to ink a $10 million with a Chinese energy company in 2017
In a series of tweets Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee Republicans released new WhatsApp messages between Hunter Biden and a Chinese business associate as they embarked on an energy deal in August 2017
The ‘chairman,’ Republicans said, was now missing Chinese oil tycoon Ye Jianming, who disappeared in February 2018 after being taken into custody by Chinese authorities.
The Oversight Committee Republicans alleged that Ye was tied to an intelligence gathering agency for the Chinese Communist Party.
‘Ye stated that that CEFC China’s vision ‘is to obtain overseas resources and serve the national strategy,” Oversight Republicans’ Twitter account said. ‘He wanted to expand China’s reach and influence around the world.’
‘As more facts come to light, it becomes even more evident that the Bidens put China and their interests first and America last,’ House Oversight Republicans charged.
Ye had previously been questioned by federal authorities in New York in November 2017 over a bribery scheme related to CEFC’s business in Chad and Uganda.
Ye’s lieutenant, Patrick Ho, was eventually convicted of seven counts of bribery and money laundering in relation to the bribery scheme.
Ho had dialed James Biden, Hunter’s uncle and the president’s brother, upon being arrested, according to a 2018 New York Times profile of CEFC’s downfall.
James Biden told The Times that he believed the call was meant for Hunter.
‘There is nothing else I have to say,’ James Biden told the paper. ‘I don’t want to be dragged into this anymore.’
Since January, the House Oversight Committee under the leadership of Chairman James Comer has been looking into what he calls Biden family ‘influence peddling.’
The White House and President Joe Biden have repeatedly denied the president was in business with Hunter.
Last week’s WhatsApp message from an IRS whistleblower showed that Hunter used his father’s clout to pressure a Chinese associate.
‘I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made was not fulfilled,’ Hunter wrote to Communist Party official Henry Zhao on July 30, 2017.
Hunter’s lawyer Chris Clark responded by calling the whistleblower ‘biased’ and claimed the account covered ‘a time of turmoil and addiction’ for the president’s son.
‘Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family,’ Clark said.
Clark also pushed back on Republican complaints that the Department of Justice’s investigation into the president’s son didn’t go far enough.
Last week, Hunter Biden agreed to a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and entering probation over a gun charge.
‘An extensive, five-year-long investigation conducted by the United States Department of Justice concluded this week, which resulted in my client taking responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments, as well as a firearm charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement,’ said Clark. ‘As his attorney through this entire matter, I can say that any suggestion the investigation was not thorough, or cut corners, or cut my client any slack, is preposterous and deeply irresponsible.’
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