Important: This story is categorized as an opinion piece. This means it bypasses ordinary fact checking and is likely based entirely on the authors opinion. Please see disclosure in author bio below story.
CrimeLegalLocal

IRS Strikes Back: Moves to Dismiss Bulk of Hunter Biden’s Lawsuit on Tax Disclosure Claims

By Alejandro Villamor Share with new partner:   Share
374

The IRS is pushing for the dismissal of portions of a lawsuit filed by Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, alleging that IRS agents unlawfully disclosed his private tax information. 

In a court filing on Tuesday, the IRS argued for the dismissal of the lawsuit, stating that claims made by agents’ lawyers, who are not US government employees, should not be included. 

The agency also contended that Hunter Biden seeks damages not covered by privacy law.

Hunter Biden filed the lawsuit in September 2023, asserting two claims. 

Firstly, he alleged that two IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, along with their attorneys, improperly disclosed his confidential information. Secondly, he claimed that the IRS intentionally failed to install safeguards to protect his information.

The IRS specifically asked the judge to drop a portion of one accusation and the entirety of the other. Hunter Biden’s defense team accused Shapley and Ziegler, who are veteran IRS criminal investigators, of violating Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code by engaging in a campaign to publicly smear him. 

Shapley and Ziegler had raised concerns about preferential treatment given to the Biden family during the Hunter Biden investigation.

Hunter Biden’s Allegations vs. IRS Stand

irs-strikes-back-moves-to-dismiss-bulk-of-hunter-biden's-lawsuit-on-tax-disclosure-claims
The IRS is pushing for the dismissal of portions of a lawsuit filed by Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, alleging that IRS agents unlawfully disclosed his private tax information.

While the IRS emphasized that Hunter Biden publicly revealed he was under federal investigation before Shapley and Ziegler approached Congress, it did not address the first son’s claims against the whistleblowers. 

The IRS lawsuit is one of several filed by Hunter Biden last year as part of his more assertive strategy in countering negative headlines and allegations against him.

Hunter Biden, charged last month with failing to pay over $1 million in taxes, pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. 

The IRS lawsuit has been criticized by Empower Oversight, a group providing legal representation for whistleblowers, which labeled it a frivolous smear. Mark Lytle and Tristan Leavitt, attorneys referenced in the lawsuit, are associated with Empower Oversight. 

The legal battle unfolds against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny surrounding Hunter Biden’s financial and personal affairs.

Alejandro Villamor
Disclaimer (varies based on content, section, category, etc.): Charges are accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. News articles on this site, especially those in the opinion category such as this one, may contain opinions of the author, and if opinion, may not necessarily reflect the views of the site itself nor the views of the owners of The Published Reporter. For more information on our editorial policies please view our editorial policies and guidelines section in addition to our fact checking policy and most importantly, our terms of service. All links on this site could lead to commissions paid to the publisher. Please see Advertising Disclosure in sidebar.
Subscribe to Alejandro Villamor (via RSS) RSS ICON or a specific category with our Feedburner Feeds. Feedburner
Comment via Facebook

Corrections: If you are aware of an inaccuracy or would like to report a correction, we would like to know about it. Please consider sending an email to [email protected] and cite any sources if available. Thank you. (Policy)

You might also like More from author

Comments are closed.