Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, alleging the agency’s “unlawful disclosure” of his confidential tax return information to the media. The complaint specifically cites interviews given by IRS supervisor Gary Shapley and whistleblower Joseph Ziegler, accusing them and others of intentionally and repeatedly disclosing Biden’s protected tax information. The IRS has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Shapley and Ziegler participated in more than 20 nationally televised interviews, during which they disclosed confidential information about Hunter Biden’s taxes and finances. Shapley, in particular, expressed concerns about the handling of a high-profile investigation and felt obligated to speak out. However, the lawsuit claims that their disclosures violated Biden’s right to privacy and were made without his consent.
In response to the lawsuit, attorneys for Shapley dismissed it as frivolous, stating that he and his legal team have only disclosed public information authorized by statute. They argued that once Congress released the testimony, Shapley had the right to discuss that information publicly. Shapley and Ziegler had previously raised concerns about the slow pace of the investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and claimed that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss had said he would not be the one to decide on whether charges would be brought.
The allegations and counter-allegations between Hunter Biden and the IRS agents have persisted even after a plea agreement between Biden and Weiss’s office fell apart earlier this year. The agreement involved misdemeanor tax offenses and a felony firearm offense, but a federal judge questioned the provisions that would have allowed Biden to avoid prison time and further charges. As a result, Biden pleaded not guilty to three charges.
On September 14, a federal grand jury indicted Hunter Biden on charges related to his purchase of a firearm while being a drug user. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, accused Weiss of bending to political pressure and argued that the charges were barred by the terms of the original plea agreement. Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently announced an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, claiming “credible” allegations of profiting off his son’s business dealings.
Despite investigations by House Republicans, no direct evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden has been uncovered. The president has consistently denied any involvement in his son’s foreign work. The lawsuit filed by Hunter Biden against the IRS adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing legal battles surrounding his tax affairs and the scrutiny on the Biden family.
Original Story at www.cbsnews.com – 2023-09-18 17:35:00
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