IRS agents turned whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler have initiated a legal battle against Abbe Lowell, the attorney for Hunter Biden.
According to the Daily Caller, they seek $20 million for reputational damages linked to Lowell's claims about their actions during congressional testimonies.
Shapley and Ziegler accused officials at the Department of Justice of favoritism towards Hunter Biden amid inquiries into his tax affairs and business engagements. Their complaints surfaced publicly during their congressional testimonies in mid-2023.
The crux of the lawsuit concerns Lowell’s statements that allegedly branded the whistleblowers as criminals, an accusation they claim was broadcast widely, damaging their credibility and careers alike.
According to the official complaint lodged in federal court, Abbe Lowell falsely accused Shapley and Ziegler of engaging in unlawful activities. These serious allegations were reportedly disseminated to third parties, worsening the impact on the plaintiffs.
The whistleblowers have underscored their role in bringing to light what they perceive as unjust protection extended toward Hunter Biden by the Department of Justice. This intervention, they argue, eventually precipitated federal tax charges against Biden, to which he has since pleaded guilty.
In a notable disclosure last year, Gary Shapley released a text message allegedly from Hunter Biden that detailed a potential business discussion with a Chinese associate, stirring more controversy.
This message dates back to 2017 and came into the public sphere shortly after an FBI confirmation of the authenticity of Biden’s laptop in 2019.
The exposure of Hunter Biden’s laptop and ensuing media censorship in 2020 created a turbulent media and political narrative, intensifying scrutiny on his dealings and the operations of the DOJ and the FBI.
The lawsuit explains that the reputational harm suffered by Shapley and Ziegler due to Lowell’s statements was magnified because of Lowell’s prestigious reputation in legal circles.
Here are the words of the complainants regarding the impact of Lowell’s actions:
It is particularly ironic and damaging that a well-known attorney like Lowell — in his words, ‘one of the country’s foremost white collar defense and trial lawyers’ that is ‘widely viewed as counsel of choice for individuals facing government investigations and potential indictments’— has chosen to falsely accuse these special agents of criminal behavior.
As this legal confrontation unfolds, the implications stretch beyond personal grievances to potentially influencing public trust in federal institutions and the justice system.
This lawsuit filed by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler against Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, seeks $20 million in damages for alleged defamation. The whistleblowers claim Lowell made false statements about them violating grand jury secrecy rules and taxpayer protection laws. They argue these statements damaged their reputations after they testified to Congress about alleged preferential treatment in the Hunter Biden investigation.
