IRS whistleblower says he was STOPPED from pursing leads in the Hunter investigation

An IRS veteran who denounced the preferential treatment in the Hunter Biden investigation claimed that the case involving the president’s son was not being handled as normal.

Former IRS supervisor Gary Shapley told CBS News on Tuesday that he was repeatedly prevented from taking necessary – and routine – steps in Hunter’s case.

He said this even happened when he worked under the Trump administration.

Behavior uncovered during the five-year investigation could have led to additional charges, he claimed.

Shapley, who worked for the agency for 14 years, helped oversee the investigation of the president’s son and raises questions about the alleged special treatment throughout the investigation.

“We have to make sure that as a special agent for IRS Criminal Investigation, we treat each person exactly the same,” Shapley said in an interview with CBS chief investigative correspondent Jim Axelrod. “And that just didn’t happen here.”

The comments come after documents were released last week showing that Hunter, 53, has reached a deal with federal investigators that will allow him to avoid jail time. The president’s son will plead guilty to two tax-related violations and face probation for lying on a federal form to purchase a firearm.

“Based on my experience, if this was a small business owner or other unrelated person, they would have been charged with felonies,” Shapley explained.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri released transcripts last week 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 capable of filing any charges he deemed necessary.

Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, claimed in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee weeks ago that he had been granted “ultimate authority over this matter, including the responsibility to decide where, when, and if charges should be brought.” ‘.

House Republicans released more WhatsApp messages on Tuesday, which they say were written by Hunter when he was working on a business deal with a Chinese energy company.

In August 2017 posts, the first son pushed for $10 million to be invested annually in the joint venture with CEFC China Energy, calling a $5 million proposal “new to me” and “obviously not acceptable.”

The House Oversight Committee’s Twitter account said Hunter sent a message to Gongwen Dong, a CEFC China Energy employee who went by the nickname “Kevin.”

“I’m tired of Kevin,” Hunter said. “I can make five million dollars at 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 the chairman of this partnership wants. Please don’t squabble over peanuts.’

The next day, one of Hunter’s shell companies, OWASCO PC, received a $10,000 payment from CEFC, the House Oversight Republicans said, sharing a receipt.

The “chairman,” Republicans said, is now missing from Chinese oil tycoon Ye Jianming, who disappeared in February 2018 after being taken into custody by Chinese authorities.

The Republicans on the Oversight Committee alleged that Ye had ties to an intelligence agency for the Chinese Communist Party.

“Thou stated that CEFC China’s vision is ‘to obtain overseas resources and serve national strategy,” the Oversight Republicans’ Twitter account read. “He wanted to expand China’s reach and influence around the world.”

“As more facts come to light, it becomes even clearer that the Bidens are putting China and their interests first and America last,” the House Oversight Republicans charged.

Ye had previously been questioned by federal authorities in New York in November 2017 over a bribery scheme involving CEFC’s activities in Chad and Uganda.

Ye’s lieutenant, Patrick Ho, was eventually convicted of seven counts of bribery and money laundering related to the bribery scheme.

Ho had called James Biden, Hunter’s uncle and the president’s brother, after he was arrested, according to a 2018 New York Times profile of CEFC’s demise.

James Biden told The Times he thought the call was for Hunter.

“There is nothing else I have to say,” James Biden told the paper. “I don’t want to get dragged into this anymore.”

Since January, the House Oversight Committee led by Chairman James Comer has been investigating what he calls the “influence peddling” of the Biden family.

The White House and President Joe Biden have repeatedly denied that the president was doing business with Hunter.

Last week’s WhatsApp message from an IRS whistleblower revealed that Hunter used his father’s influence to put pressure on a Chinese employee.

“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to know why the agreement that was made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter wrote to Communist Party official Henry Zhao on July 30, 2017.

Hunter’s attorney 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 by my client, in the midst of a terrible addiction, are his own alone and have no connection to anyone in his family,” Clark said.

Clark also countered Republican complaints that the Justice Department’s investigation into the president’s son did not go far enough.

Last week, Hunter Biden agreed to a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, pleading guilty to two felony tax charges and entering probation on a gun charge.

“An extensive, five-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice concluded this week, resulting in my client accepting responsibility for two counts of misdemeanor and failure to file tax payments, as well as a firearms charge. , which will be continued. subject to a diversion agreement for the trial,” Clark said. “As his attorney throughout this case, I can say that any suggestion that the investigation was not thorough, or twisted corners, or gave my client any slack is ridiculous and profoundly irresponsible.”