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A lawyer for an IRS whistleblower, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed key meetings that exposed disagreements between prosecutors and investigators over how to conduct a criminal probe of President Joe Biden’s son hunter bidenaccording to a letter to federal regulators obtained by CNN.
In a letter to the U.S. Special Counsel’s office, Tristan Leavitt, one of the whistleblower’s attorneys, described a series of meetings in October 2022 during which federal prosecutors met with some of the people responsible for Hunter Bay. Tensions have risen among investigators who have boarded the case.
On October 7, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office — which was not identified in the letter but CNN has learned that it was the office of Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss — “was aware that the IRS and FBI had long have been concerned about handling the case since then,” and those concerns have been communicated to others in the chain of command, Leavitt wrote.
The IRS whistleblower has claimed, through his attorney, that there is political interference in the ongoing probe of the president’s son.Whistleblower Settings Sharing his They raised concerns Friday with the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee, according to a separate letter from lawyers. In that letter, the whistleblower’s attorney also expressed disappointment that the House and Senate committees had not been able to agree on a date for a joint interview with the whistleblower.
CNN previously reported that there was disagreement within the Justice Department over the strength of a potential case against Hunter Biden, but the letter provided new details of an internal battle over how the investigation should proceed. Prosecutors have been eyeing possible charges related to alleged tax crimes and false statements, but no charging decisions have been made. Hunter Biden has denied any wrongdoing.
Lawyers for the whistleblowers said their client was involved in an investigation into “high-profile, controversial topics.”Multiple sources previously confirmed to CNN This man is Hunter Biden.
By the time of the tense meeting in October 2022, the whistleblower is said to have begun making claims about alleged “irregularities” in the way the Justice Department’s tax division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office handled the case. Disclosure” outright. The letter did not provide further details about the alleged violations.
The whistleblower reiterated his concerns in an October 17, 2022 call with the prosecutors’ team, the letter said. After that, “he and his IRS team were no longer invited to any further prosecutorial team calls and meetings regarding the case, effectively excluding them from the case,” according to the letter.
Earlier this month, the whistleblower’s entire IRS investigative team was formally notified that they had been removed from the case. The whistleblower claims his team was removed at the request of the Justice Department. The IRS said it defers to the Justice Department in any matter involving the federal judicial process.
People familiar with the matter previously told CNN that the attempt to sideline the whistleblower and his team was motivated in part by alleged leaks.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware, which is overseeing the Hunter Biden case, declined to comment.
The whistleblower claims Weiss’ ability to press charges in the case was thwarted by political appointees, CNN previously reported. The Justice Department maintains that Weiss has the ability to file a lawsuit if he so chooses.
The White House has previously said the case would be “free from any political interference by the White House” and would be led by Weiss, a Donald Trump appointee.
In latest round of letters, whistleblower claims he was overlooked for promotion and fired the hunter biden case As retaliation for raising concerns about the investigation. Another unnamed IRS agent emailed the IRS commissioner concerns about his removal. A copy of the email was included in a letter to the IRS commissioner from an attorney for the original whistleblower, raising concerns of retaliation.
In a statement, the IRS said it takes the whistleblower’s concerns seriously.
“We take any concerns involving whistleblowers seriously,” the agency said, adding that it could not comment on specific taxpayer issues. “When media reports made the allegations, Commissioner (Daniel) Welfil took immediate action, contacting Treasury’s Inspector General for Taxation.”
“When allegations are made by IRS employees, the Commissioner’s Office does not directly investigate, identify whistleblowers, or similarly intervene; instead, the IRS supports the Inspector General,” the statement added. “The Inspector General is the critical guardian of the whistleblowing process and conducts related investigations into this matter. If TIGTA makes its findings and recommendations on the case, IRS leadership will act swiftly.”