The second IRS whistleblower identified himself Wednesday as Joseph Ziegler, a 13-year award-winning veteran of the agency, who alleges President Joe Biden’s Justice Department politically interfered in the criminal probe of Hunter Biden.
Ziegler, who previously went by the alias “Whistleblower X,” joined his superior, Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, in testifying publicly before Congress on Wednesday. During the testimony, he conveyed he is a gay Democrat married to a man.
“I’m a Democrat. In the last presidential election, I actually did not vote,” Ziegler told CBS News. “I thought it would be irresponsible of me to do so because I didn’t wanna show bias one way or the other.”
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) provided Ziegler’s background during the committee hearing:
Mr. Joseph Ziegler is a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division specifically assigned to the international tax and Financial Crimes Division. This is a group of 12 elite special agents who are subject matter experts in complex international tax and other related crimes. He started his career with the IRS in 2010 as a special agent and is developed successfully and has developed and successfully completed a multitude of complex financial investigations. The types of investigations include money laundering, bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, income tax evasion and income tax related charges such as identity theft, and filing false claims for income tax refunds. Ziegler’s won multiple performance awards throughout his career in recognition for his work. Mr. Gary Shapley, Mr. Shapley is the Supervisory Special Agent of the international tax and financial crimes group. Shapley started his career with the IRS and
In 2021, Ziegler alleges he drafted a memo recommending FBI prosecutors charge Hunter Biden with multiple felonies and misdemeanors.
“In August of 2022, we had a phone call with all of the assigned prosecutors and they had said that all four of them were recommending the approval of felony and misdemeanor tax charges,” Ziegler said.
President Joe Biden, right, is comforted by his son Hunter Biden and First Lady Jill Biden after being sworn in during the inauguration ceremony. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Hunter Biden agreed in June to plead guilty to two federal tax violation charges and one violation of gun laws. He will appear in a Delaware federal court on July 26 before Judge Maryellen Noreika.
Ziegler told CBC News that U.S. Attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, told him FBI officials refused to bring the charges he recommended inside the DOJ.
“David said to us… ‘I’m getting some concern from the Department of Justice Tax Division, the evidence that might come in related to his substance abuse and the death of his brother, Beau Biden, those might affect the jury’s opinion,’” Ziegler said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland flatly denies the whistleblower allegations that Biden’s DOJ interfered in the Hunter Biden criminal tax probe.
Polling shows 61 percent of Americans believe Hunter Biden received “special treatment” in his plea deal with Weiss, a TIPP Poll revealed Wednesday.
