The IRS whistleblowers who alleged political interference in the federal investigation into Hunter Biden will testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee next week.
The committee announced that IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, who served as the supervisor of the investigation at the IRS, and the second anonymous whistleblower leveling the accusations are set to appear before the panel on July 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
‘These whistleblowers have provided information about how @TheJusticeDept refused to follow evidence that implicated Joe Biden, tipped off Hunter Biden’s attorneys, allowed the clock to run out with respect to certain charges, and put Hunter Biden on the path to a sweetheart plea deal,’ the committee announced Wednesday on Twitter.
The whistleblowers alleged that officials at the Justice Department, FBI and IRS interfered in the investigation into Hunter Biden, and said decisions in the case seemed to be ‘influenced by politics.’ They also alleged federal prosecutors blocked lines of questioning related to President Biden, and said the U.S. attorney in charge of the probe, David Weiss, did not have full authority to bring charges.
Their testimony comes as the committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., investigates the Biden family’s business dealings.
‘Since taking the gavel in January, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability has made rapid progress in our investigation into the Biden family’s domestic and international business dealings to determine whether these activities compromise U.S. national security and President Biden’s ability to lead with impartiality,’ Comer said in a statement. ‘From the thousands of financial records we’ve obtained, we know the Biden family set up over 20 shell companies, engaged in intentionally complicated financial transactions with foreign adversaries, and made a concerted effort to hide the payments and avoid scrutiny.’
Comer said the whistleblowers have confirmed ‘many findings of our investigation.’
‘Additionally, these whistleblowers provided information about how the Justice Department refused to follow evidence that implicated Joe Biden, tipped off Hunter Biden’s attorneys, allowed the clock to run out with respect to certain charges, and put Hunter Biden on the path to a sweetheart plea deal,’ Comer said. ‘Americans are rightfully angry about this two-tiered system of justice that seemingly allows the Biden family to operate above the law.’
Comer stressed the importance of hearing from the whistleblowers, and other witnesses about this ‘weaponization of federal law enforcement power.’
‘This hearing is an opportunity for the American people to hear directly from these credible and brave whistleblowers,’ Comer said. ‘I look forward to their testimony as the Oversight Committee, along with the House Judiciary Committee and Ways and Means Committee, work to deliver transparency and accountability.’
The testimony comes amid a joint-congressional investigation with the Oversight Committee, Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee into the federal probe into Hunter Biden, and whether prosecutorial decisions were influenced by politics.
House Republicans are demanding more than a dozen federal officials, including the U.S. attorney in charge of the investigation into Hunter Biden, appear before multiple congressional committees for transcribed interviews regarding allegations of politicization and misconduct at their agencies throughout the years-long probe into the president’s son.
The Justice Department announced last month that Hunter Biden had entered a plea agreement that would likely keep him out of prison. As part of the deal, the president’s son will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax and to one charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Hunter Biden is set to make his first court appearance on July 26.
The Justice Department has denied the investigation was influenced in any way. U.S. Attorney David Weiss from Delaware, who is in charge of the probe, has said the investigation is ‘ongoing.’