WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the Department of Treasury announced that the two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler – who came forward to the Ways and Means Committee in 2023 to share details of corruption on the part of the IRS and Department of Justice in investigating the tax crimes of President Biden’s son Hunter Biden – would be joining the Treasury Department as senior advisers:
“Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler are brave public servants who risked their careers to expose the rot at the core of the IRS’ and Justice Department’s investigation into the tax crimes of Hunter Biden. Their testimonies and evidence provided to the Ways and Means Committee revealed the extent to which President Biden, U.S. Attorney David Weiss, and others betrayed the trust of the American people to protect the Biden Family business while retaliating against Shapley and Ziegler. Rather than allow his family to face justice, President Biden pardoned his son, his brother, and four other members of his family for any crimes they committed over an eleven-year period – violating his promises to the American people and confirming what Shapley and Ziegler knew to be true.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to bring their expertise into the Treasury Department sends a clear message that the era of Democrats’ weaponization of the IRS is over. It not only honors their years of service to the country but will also harness their knowledge and experience to improve IRS operations and hopefully begin to restore some faith in that agency.”
On May 26, 2023, and June 1, 2023, Shapley and Ziegler gave transcribed interviews to the Ways and Means Committee where they shared that officials at the IRS and the Department of Justice obstructed, interfered, and prevented a full tax investigation into Hunter Biden.
On December 5, 2023, Shapley and Ziegler appeared before the Ways and Means Committee during an executive session where Democrats attacked the investigators and played down their testimony.
On December 30, 2024, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel found that top IRS officials issued illegal gag orders and retaliated against Shapley and Ziegler by removing them from the Hunter Biden investigation.
READ: Six Key Takeaways from the Released IRS Whistleblower Transcripts
Click here for additional materials related to the Ways and Means Committee investigation based on whistleblower testimony.