Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is pressing House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to intervene with Hunter Biden’s legal challenge against the Internal Revenue Service in order to shield the whistleblowers who reported details about the president’s son’s alleged tax fraud.
In a letter sent to Johnson on Wednesday, Gaetz urged the speaker to direct the House Office of General Counsel to get involved in Robert Hunter Biden v. Internal Revenue Service after Hunter Biden sued the agency late last year. Gaetz argued the lawsuit is being used as the “only available action” for Biden to silence the whistleblowers who first reported details of his alleged fraud.
“Hunter Biden sued the IRS after details of his alleged tax fraud came to light,” Gaetz’s office said in a press release. “His intended targets in his lawsuit are the brave IRS whistleblowers who came forward to expose the Biden family’s potential criminal operations. By allowing the House Office of General Counsel to intervene in the lawsuit, Speaker Johnson can protect the prerogatives of the House of Representatives and protect the rights of all Americans to make protected disclosures to Congress.”
Biden filed the lawsuit in September, alleging the IRS agents who reported his tax affairs did so to target and embarrass him. The president’s son accused the agents of violating his right to privacy when they told lawmakers they felt the IRS investigation into his tax affairs had been mishandled.
The lawsuit claims the two agents, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, unlawfully revealed Biden’s tax return information and that the IRS did not take the proper steps to ensure his details were kept confidential. The lawsuit came after Shapley alleged the Justice Department “slow-walked” its investigation into the president’s son while Ziegler claimed Biden was given “preferential treatment.”
Gaetz argued the lawsuit is an attempt to silence the whistleblowers, pointing to the Justice Department’s involvement defending the IRS.
“A cursory read of these materials should make clear to the House Office of General Counsel that the rights of the House are implicated in this case and not being adequately represented to the Court by the DOJ,” Gaetz wrote in his letter. “The House clearly has an interest in the broadest possible read of the subject matter that an individual may properly disclose to committees of Congress.”
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The IRS has also pushed for the lawsuit to be dismissed, noting it included claims made by agents’ lawyers, who are not U.S. government employees. The agency also said it should be dismissed because Biden seeks damages that are not covered by privacy law.
It’s not clear whether Johnson intends to take any action, and a spokesperson for the speaker did not respond to a request for comment by the Washington Examiner.