Hunter Biden IRS whistleblowers promoted at Treasury

IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler — who alleged the Justice Department slow-walked its investigation into Hunter Biden — were promoted to leadership positions at the Treasury Department on Tuesday.

The Treasury said in a press release that the two, who spent years investigating the Biden tax evasion case, would come to the department as senior advisers and "help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS."

“These veteran civil servants join us to help further the agency’s focus on collections, modernization, and customer service, so we can deliver a more effective and efficient IRS experience for hardworking American taxpayers,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Shapley and Ziegler … came forward in 2022 and subsequently faced political persecution by the IRS, including several attempts to discredit their reputations and ruin their careers,” the release continued.

The pair were key witnesses in the House GOP impeachment probe into former President Biden.

Shapley and Ziegler said authorities failed to pursue the most aggressive charges against the Hunter Biden, allegations that the IRS and Justice Department forcefully denied.

Amid the GOP investigation, prosecutor David Weiss was elevated to special counsel, ultimately bringing tax charges against Hunter Biden in California as the two IRS agents suggested.

While Hunter Biden was convicted in a Delaware gun case brought by Weiss and pleaded guilty in the California tax case, his father pardoned him on his way out of office.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) celebrated the news of the pair's new positions and touted his role in the process. He noted a letter he wrote to President Trump last month praising the whistleblowers and a second letter in which he urged Bessent to place Shapley and Ziegler in leadership posts, citing their “bravery, courage, expertise and integrity.”

“As I noted in my letter to Secretary Bessent last month, if we reinstate whistleblowers who have been retaliated against, it will send a clear signal that pointing out wrongdoing is an honorable thing to do. It will help change the culture of our bureaucracy. I’m very grateful to Secretary Bessent for supporting Gary and Joe, and I have no doubt they will be a boon to the Treasury Department in their new roles,” Grassley wrote in a statement.

Shapley and Ziegler said in a statement that they are “enormously grateful” to Bessent, Grassley and the rest of Congress “for their leadership and trust.”

“We have been motivated by one singular mantra: do what’s right, and do it the right way. It has not been easy, but having a clear conscience is worth the effort,” they continued in their joint statement. “We appreciate the opportunity Secretary Bessent is giving us to put our experience and firsthand knowledge to good use for the American people to eliminate waste and reform the IRS.”

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