As the federal tax case against Hunter Biden unfolds, new revelations from IRS whistleblowers and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials have provided a clearer picture of the events leading up to this point.
New evidence has emerged corroborating allegations by IRS whistleblowers that DOJ officials obstructed an investigation into Hunter Biden, with confirmation now coming from DOJ officials involved in the case.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler had earlier testified that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss was denied authority to charge Hunter Biden by upper echelons at the DOJ. This claim was later confirmed by Weiss himself during his testimony, aligning with the whistleblower's initial allegations.
Weiss testified that he was denied special counsel authority to charge Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C. This was further corroborated by notes taken by Shapley during a meeting with Weiss on October 7, 2022, which confirmed Weiss's account.
Further complications arose when Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for D.C., and Martin Estrada, the U.S. Attorney for California, declined to partner with Weiss on the case against Hunter Biden. This decision effectively prevented charges from being filed in their respective districts.
As a result of Graves' refusal to cooperate, the statute of limitations expired on potential charges related to Hunter Biden's income from Ukraine during the period of 2014-2015.
The whistleblowers also testified that the DOJ Tax Division hesitated to approve investigative steps in the Hunter Biden case. This purported hesitation has raised eyebrows and questions about the DOJ's handling of the case.
Further obstructions were allegedly put in place by Delaware prosecutor Lesley Wolf, who is accused of blocking searches related to Hunter Biden and interventions on behalf of Joe Biden.
Shapley had this to say about the obstructions:
“AUSA Lesley Wolf stated that she would not have seen it because, for a variety of reasons, prosecutors decided to keep it from the investigators. This decision is unprecedented in my experience... Investigators assigned to this investigation were obstructed from seeing all the available evidence. It is unknown if all the evidence in the laptop was reviewed by agents or by prosecutors.”
The FBI had possession of Hunter Biden's laptop as early as 2019, but according to the whistleblowers, investigators were blocked from fully examining it by DOJ officials. This is an allegation that, if true, would speak to an unprecedented level of interference in a criminal investigation.
Weiss defended the prosecutors under his purview throughout these allegations but did not specifically address the whistleblower allegations against Wolf.
Amidst all these controversies, Hunter Biden has been indicted on federal gun charges and has pleaded not guilty. He is currently suing the IRS whistleblowers.
The timeline of key events in the case starts in 2014-2015 when Hunter Biden received income from Burisma and was allegedly involved in tax evasion. Fast-forward to 2019, when the FBI verified Hunter Biden's laptop, but DOJ officials allegedly blocked a full investigation.
In 2020, IRS whistleblowers claimed the DOJ stalled investigative steps before the election. Shapley testified publicly to these allegations in the House Ways and Means in May 2022, with Ziegler backing up his claims a month later.
By July 2022, Shapley was again testifying publicly, facing accusations from Hunter Biden's lawyer. In October, Weiss confirmed he was denied authority to charge Hunter Biden in DC, and in November, he confirmed the whistleblower claims in House testimony.
