IRS Supervisor Claims Hunter Biden Investigation Is Being Mishandled, Requests Whistleblower Protection Brittany Bernstein
An IRS criminal supervisory special agent is seeking whistleblower protection to share with lawmakers information that allegedly shows an investigation into potential tax crimes by Hunter Biden is being mishandled.
In a letter to Congress on Tuesday, attorney Mark Lytle claimed his client has information that would “contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee,” as well as information about a “failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case.”
The letter, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, claims the would-be whistleblower has evidence showing “preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected.”
Lytle told lawmakers his client has made legally protected disclosures internally at the IRS and said his goal is to “ensure that my client can properly share his lawfully protected disclosures with congressional committees.”
“Thus, I respectfully request that your committees work with me to facilitate sharing this information with congress legally and with the fully informed advice of counsel,” he added in the letter, which was addressed to Republican and Democratic leaders on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, the Senate Finance Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee.
“Despite serious risks of retaliation, my client is offering to provide you with information necessary to exercise your constitutional oversight function and wishes to make the disclosures in a nonpartisan manner to the leadership of the relevant committees on both sides of the political aisle,” the letter said.
The agent is seeking whistleblower protections as not to run afoul of rules governing the discussion of any specific taxpayer.
Delaware U.S. attorney David Weiss is leading a criminal investigation related to Hunter Biden’s taxes. The investigation, which first began in 2018, also pertains to whether Hunter Biden made a false statement in connection with a gun purchase.
In addressing the investigation in December 2020, Biden said that he was “confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately.”
In October, reports indicated that the FBI believed it had enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes.
Lytle sat down for an interview with CBS News on Wednesday and said, “My client wants to come forward to Congress. He’s ready to be questioned about what he knows and what he experienced under the proper legal protections.”
“Political considerations were having an impact on the decision for agents to make investigative steps in the case. And those political considerations are not normally a part of a career investigator’s toolkit,” Lytle told CBS.
The attorney said his client’s claims are “very well documented in emails, and other communications with the Department of Justice.”
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