In a recent development in the ongoing legal battle between Hunter Biden and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), two IRS employees who were granted whistleblower protections are now asking a federal judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by the president’s son against the federal tax agency.
The whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, have also requested to intervene in the matter, arguing that the IRS has a conflict of interest in trying to defend their decision to speak out publicly and to Congress about their experience investigating Hunter Biden.
According to the whistleblowers, the Whistleblower Protection Act gave them the right to discuss with the media the information they believed constituted gross mismanagement and an abuse of authority, like the mishandling of the Hunter Biden case.
Hunter Biden’s lawsuit alleges that Shapley and Ziegler were part of a “campaign to publicly smear” him by divulging confidential taxpayer information about him. However, the whistleblowers argue that they were careful to avoid identifying any confidential taxpayer information, and when they did divulge information about Hunter Biden, it was done in a manner that is protected by Congress and by whistleblower statutes.
The case is still in its early stages, and it will be up to U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras to determine if the whistleblowers can intervene, after Biden and the IRS respond to the requests.
This case highlights the delicate balance between the need for confidentiality in how IRS employees treat taxpayer information and the rights of whistleblowers to speak out against perceived misconduct. It also underscores the potential consequences faced by those who choose to evade taxes, as well as the importance of complying with tax laws.
As this case unfolds, it serves as a reminder of the serious legal and ethical implications of tax evasion, and the role of whistleblowers in holding individuals accountable for their financial decisions.
{Article Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irs-whistleblowers-hunter-biden-lawsuit-against-irs/}