The special agents at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who blew the whistle on the Biden administration's preferential treatment toward Hunter Biden during an investigation into the former First Son's tax returns will be promoted to key leadership positions within the U.S. Department of Treasury. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, whose bombshell testimony helped squash Hunter Biden's sweetheart plea deal, are slated to start work this week as senior advisors for IRS reform to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's office.
On X, Bessent said Shapley and Ziegler will "help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS."
I am pleased to welcome Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to the @USTreasury Department, where they will 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…
— Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) March 18, 2025
Bessent told the Fox Business show "Mornings with Maria" that after meeting with Shapley and Ziegler when they appeared as esteemed guests at President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, "I went and decided I would bring them into Treasury, give them a year to investigate the wrongdoing that's going on at the IRS."
Shapley, specifically, will serve as senior deputy for investigations and enforcement, Bessent said. "We'll learn what's been going on at the IRS, what's been wrong, [and] how could this Hunter Biden nonsense have happened."
.@SecScottBessent on promoting the IRS whistleblowers: "The culture of being able to come forward when you see wrongdoing is a central part of our democracy... seeing them in person really brought it home for me. I went and decided I would bring them into Treasury, give them a… pic.twitter.com/RDGwHj4lA0
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 18, 2025
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Shapley and Ziegler said in a joint statement reacting to their promotions:
"We are enormously grateful to Secretary Bessent and Senator Grassley and all of the members of Congress for their leadership. We have been motivated by one singular mantra: do what's right. It's never been easy, and there have been more pitfalls than one would hope, but we appreciate the opportunity Secretary Bessent is giving us to utilize our skills and firsthand knowledge of the agency to further the work of the administration to root out waste and fraud from the federal government and make a difference."
Tristan Leavitt and Jason Foster of Empower Oversight, the government watchdog organization representing Shapley, added:
"Gary and Joe have never been motivated by accolades, just an underlying desire to do what was right. This opportunity provided to them by Secretary Bessent will allow them to use their deep skill set and understanding of how the IRS works from top to bottom to help solve some of the ingrained issues within the agency. Secretary Bessent should be applauded for his willingness to step up and bring these two courageous whistleblowers into leadership positions within the agency."
According to Empower Oversight, in 2018, while reviewing bank records, Ziegler uncovered payments tied to Hunter Biden that suggested tax evasion violations and potential links to prostitution rings. Ziegler launched a criminal tax investigation, expecting standard IRS procedures to apply. However, he noticed deviations from protocol, such as the Delaware U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Tax Division resisting typical investigative steps, like interviewing Hunter Biden or executing search warrants, often citing political sensitivities, especially as Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign gained momentum.
With the help of his supervisor, Shapley, in January 2020, Ziegler escalated matters. The two flagged their suspicions of political interference, documenting what they believed was "abuse of authority" and "gross mismanagement." Together, they reported that DOJ officials were slow-walking the case, avoided charging decisions in jurisdictions overseen by Biden appointees, and allowed the statute of limitations to lapse on the most serious offenses. By late 2021, despite evidence supporting six years of tax charges, the investigation stalled as political pressure mounted.
Shapley and Ziegler's internal complaints went nowhere. The two then took their concerns to Congress, leading to the DOJ demanding that the IRS kick both of them off the investigation. Shapely and Ziegler were subsequently sidelined in May 2023 despite their stellar records and faced further retaliation, including reduced duties and being bypassed for promotions.
Following a 20-month probe, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which investigates whistleblower retaliation in the executive branch, found that the IRS had illegally gagged and retaliated against Shapley and Ziegler. The oversight office determined that the IRS could not support its decision to remove them from the Hunter Biden case for any legitimate, non-retaliatory purpose.
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