Hunter Biden Sues the IRS
President Biden holds his grandson, Beau Jr., while talking to his son, Hunter Biden, on the South Portico of the White House on July 4, 2022 (Andrew McKeough/AKSM Photography).
Hunter Biden bites back at the IRS in a lawsuit for violating privacy rights.
Article by Victoria Newsome, Junior Election Correspondent
WILMINGTON, Del. - Hunter Biden is facing more escalating legal issues as he sued the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) last Monday stating that two agency investigators violated his privacy rights by disclosing personal details to Congress and the public.
The personal details have to do with Biden’s alleging tax-probe interference in addition to the investigation into his conduct.
According to AP News, the investigators or agents, “targeted and sought to embarrass Mr. Biden” by disclosing confidential tax information in testimony and various press interviews before Congress, the suit said.
This emphasizes the public testimony and statements by two I.R.S. investigators, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who have been constantly giving information to House committees scavenging for evidence of corruption by President Biden and his family.
“In this country, we believe in the rule of law, and that applies to everyone. There should not be a two-track justice system depending on who you are and who you're connected to. Yet in this case, there was,” said Gary Shapley, Supervisory Special Agent IRS.
Both of them told House Republicans that they genuinely believe the Justice Department’s suspicions about Hunter Biden’s taxes were directly influenced by political matters. Ziegler’s lawyer claimed he will “continue to speak out” about what he sees as “special treatment” for Hunter Biden in the management of the case.
This embarrassed Biden enough to make the effort to sue the IRS, especially after his lawyers argued that certain protections didn’t work for his case. However, a lawyer for another agency mentioned that any confidential information released came under that “whistleblower” authorization.
Taking action appears to be an attempt to damage and degrade Biden’s credibility and self-image. The claim has been disputed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and David C. Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware who has overseen the case.
In their eyes, Biden has all the same responsibilities as any other American citizen, and the IRS can and should make sure that he follows those responsibilities, as stated in the document.
The suit states the IRS has not done enough to stop the airing of his personal information as it seeks to, “force compliance with federal tax and privacy laws” and damages of $1,000 for every unauthorized disclosure via Time Magazine.
The in-depth investigation into Hunter Biden goes back years, where he has been expected to land a plea deal with prosecutors over the summer that included guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of failing to pay his taxes on time. During a July court hearing, the deal imploded as he was indicted recently on federal firearm charges. On top of that, he’s been accused of being dishonest about his drug use to buy and possess a hand-gun in October 2018.
Throughout the process, Biden’s defense attorneys have tirelessly implied that they plan to combat the charges and this case could be on the way to becoming a huge trial in addition to the suit.
In the coming days, Biden and his defense team are looking to secure his privacy rights and House Republicans continue to investigate more into his tax and legal disclosures.