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Two IRS whistleblowers who claimed the Justice Department interfered with Hunter Biden’s criminal investigation are now taking their case to a federal workplace misconduct review board, as detailed in a newly filed legal complaint.
The whistleblowers, IRS supervisory special agent Gary Shapley and special agent Joseph Ziegler, filed their appeal with the US Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) on Thursday, seeking reinstatement of career promotions they claim were wrongfully withheld.
The agents are also pursuing accountability for those who allegedly sidelined them and removed them from the tax fraud investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, including Delaware US Attorney David Weiss and DOJ Tax Division officials.
🚨🚨 Today IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler have taken the extraordinary step of filing a motion to intervene in Hunter Biden's lawsuit against the IRS in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Read why below… 🧵 https://t.co/ID3gwsKlO7 pic.twitter.com/UIw4BBKsIm
— Tristan Leavitt (@tristanleavitt) May 17, 2024
“When Joe Biden became the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee in the spring of 2020, DOJ’s preferential treatment of Hunter Biden began to look like gross mismanagement,” wrote lawyers for the whistleblower protection legal nonprofit Empower Oversight in the MSPB filing.
The alleged mismanagement involved Attorney General Merrick Garland’s contradictory statements about Weiss’ charging authority, and an October 2022 meeting where Shapley accused the Delaware prosecutor of mishandling the case.
Before approaching the Office of Special Counsel, other inspectors general, and Congressional Republicans, both agents reported their concerns about the Hunter Biden investigation’s improper handling through their chain of command.
The OSC informed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley in December that the IRS had imposed unlawful restrictions on Shapley and Ziegler’s ability to speak about the case.
According to Empower Oversight’s lawyers, “Not only did the IRS agree to remove the Appellants, but it also commenced a cascading series of retaliatory actions against the Appellants — especially after they blew the whistle to multiple inspectors general, to Congress, and to OSC.”
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler reveal retaliation and illegal gag orders, shedding light on corruption within the IRS and DOJ over the Hunter Biden case. pic.twitter.com/c3M1oLOskH
— Robert Gouveia Esq. (@RobGouveiaEsq) February 8, 2025
“Taken together, these actions add up to a significant change in duties, responsibilities, and working conditions.”
While the IRS has received the prohibited personnel practice report, they have yet to take action. Meanwhile, Shapley and Ziegler continue working under those who allegedly retaliated against them, following President Biden’s late 2024 pardon of his son for tax and gun charges, plus any potential crimes committed between January 2014 and December 2024.
Empower Oversight’s president and lead attorney Tristan Leavitt has requested the MSPB to mandate appropriate corrective actions from both the IRS and DOJ, and schedule a hearing to address the numerous improper actions outlined in their 84-page submission.
