Hunter Biden indictment: Lawmakers, lawyer, and whistleblowers react to new tax charges

Following first son Hunter Biden’s indictment Thursday, lawmakers and whistleblowers weighed in on the matter.

In a joint statement obtained by the Washington Examiner’s Reese Gorman, IRS whistleblowers Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley touted the indictment as a “complete vindication” of their efforts.

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“Eight months ago we did something ordinary people don’t do: we risked our careers and reputations to bring the truth out of the shadows and into the light,” they said.

“We were moved solely by our consciences, yet faced continual attacks. Nevertheless, in the face of all odds, we never wavered from what we shared with Congress. Today’s indictment is a complete vindication of our thorough investigation, and underscores the wide agreement by investigators and prosecutors that the evidence supported charges against Hunter Biden. Yet as we have stated, this is much bigger than our investigation or any one individual: it’s about equal treatment of taxpayers under the law,” they said.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY), who has devoted extensive effort to investigating Biden, praised the efforts of the IRS whistleblowers.

“Two brave IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, placed their careers on the line to blow the whistle on misconduct and politicization in the Hunter Biden criminal investigation,” Comer said in a statement.

“The Department of Justice got caught in its attempt to give Hunter Biden an unprecedented sweetheart plea deal and today’s charges filed against Hunter Biden are the result of Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler’s efforts to ensure all Americans are treated equally under the law. Every American should applaud these men for their courage to expose the truth,” he said.

“IRS whistleblowers also revealed investigators were prevented from following evidence that could have led to Joe Biden,” he continued.

“The House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the Bidens’ influence peddling schemes reveals how Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefitted from his family cashing in on the Biden name. In fact, Hunter Biden’s corporate entities implicated by today’s indictments funneled foreign cash that landed in Joe Biden’s bank account. Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,” he said.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) took the opportunity to call for the younger Biden to be “held accountable” if he didn’t comply with Congress’s subpoena to attend a private questioning behind closed doors.

“If Hunter Biden refuses to cooperate with a lawfully issued Congressional subpoena, he should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” she said. “There cannot be one set of laws if your last name is Biden and another for the rest of America.”

Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell had an opposite view than Republicans, holding that Hunter Biden was only being prosecuted due to his last name.

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“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” he said in a statement. “First, U.S. Attorney Weiss bowed to Republican pressure to file unprecedented and unconstitutional gun charges to renege on a non-prosecution resolution. Now, after five years of investigating with no new evidence — and two years after Hunter paid his taxes in full — the U.S. Attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors.”

“I wrote U.S. Attorney Weiss days ago seeking a customary meeting to discuss this investigation,” Lowell continued. “The response was media leaks today that these charges were being filed. All these issues will now be addressed in various courts, the first to occur this Monday when the prosecutors knew our motions to dismiss their first set of questionable charges would be filed.”