WATCH: Hunter Biden Attorneys Threaten IRS Whistleblower with Prison Time for Testimony Against Their Client
Attorneys for Hunter Biden have suggested that a whistleblower with the Internal Revenue Service could be at risk for prison time after speaking out about the investigation he oversaw and claims was stymied by officials at the Biden Justice Department.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for the son of President Joe Biden, on Friday sent a letter to Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, accusing the Republican congressman of allowing IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley to illegally disclose confidential source material.
“Mr. Shapley may be reaping the ‘reward’ from the cover you have given him, considering the penalties for agents illegally leaking this type of information,” Lowell wrote. He added that Shapley is a “disgruntled” employee attempting to “evade his own misconduct” — a reference to leaks to the media about the DOJ’s investigation into his client.
NEW w/ @StefWKight: Hunter’s lawyer Abbe Lowell has sent a blistering letter to House Ways and Means chairman Jason smith over the IRS Transcripts, accusing him of “feed the misinformation campaign to harm our client…as a vehicle to attack his father.”https://t.co/iat8DBcIFC pic.twitter.com/rkqQJtwkm9
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 30, 2023
Rep. Smith last week released transcripts of testimony from Shapley and another whistleblower alleging “preferential treatment” for Hunter Biden in a case that has seen the embattled first son plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of tax fraud and one felony count of firearm possession by a person using a controlled substance.
Lowell cited Whatsapp messages released as part of the House’s investigation, calling them “complete fakes” though not disputing the veracity of statements made by Hunter Biden in the messages, which appear to implicate President Biden in some of the business transactions that were under investigation by the IRS.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer questions the credibility of the WhatsApp message.
“In short, the images you circulated online are complete fakes.”
Suggests the committee itself could have “altered” the data to create this text. https://t.co/bQLpeCCuie pic.twitter.com/gz0H8SHBLI— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 30, 2023
Later in her letter, Lowell suggests that Shapley and his counterpart whistleblower were not adequately informed that providing materially false statements to federal investigators could result in prison time. Yet according to transcripts released by the House, both IRS agents were made aware of the gravity about giving false testimony under oath.
It doesn’t appear Abbe Lowell even read the witness transcripts he’s complaining about in his letter.
Lowell falsely claims witnesses were never told of their obligation to tell the truth under 18 USC 1001. Except they were. We know this because it’s in the transcripts. https://t.co/k1IfLDXI7c pic.twitter.com/gHUZm06wDp
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) June 30, 2023
Opponents to Hunter Biden’s plea deal are calling on a judge to nix the arrangement due to evidence that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland did not lift a finger to help with prosecuting the Biden son in New Jersey and Los Angeles, both districts where liberal U.S. attorneys refused to bring charges. By not granting Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss special counsel powers, Garland effectively interfered with Weiss’s ability to hold Hunter Biden accountable for tax crimes. Shapley, the IRS whistleblower, has claimed he heard Weiss declare he would not be the “deciding official” in whether to bring Hunter Biden to justice.
