Attorneys for an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower said another IRS agent is raising concerns about the Hunter Biden tax evasion probe.
The disclosure came in a letter to key congressional committee leaders, including Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who co-chairs the Whistleblower Protection Caucus.
"On May 15th, we wrote you to inform you that the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Supervisory Special Agent we represent had been told that he and his entire investigative team would be removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress," attorneys Tristan Leavitt and Mark Lytle wrote in the Monday letter.
"It is unclear to us what, if anything, you have done or will do with this information to help protect our client and other IRS employees with similar concerns from further reprisals."
The removal order originated from the Department of Justice, according to the earlier letter, which called the move "clearly retaliatory," the Washington Examiner had reported.
In the new letter, the attorneys said: "Furthermore, our client has become aware that the case agent on the case, which our client supervises, also sent a protected disclosure directly to IRS Commissioner [Danny] Werfel this week. The IRS responded by raising the baseless and absurd prospect that his email to the Commissioner may have violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure restrictions on disclosing grand jury proceedings. It did not. The email simply raised reasonable, good faith concerns to his chain of command, including Commissioner Werfel, about the removal of an entire investigative team from the case — which some of them have worked diligently for almost five years — before it has been resolved.
"It is your constitutional duty to act as a check on Executive Branch abuse and ensure that the limits on appropriated funds and statutory whistleblower protections you have enacted have real meaning. Failing to act would send a chillingly clear message that discourages other whistleblowers from providing you with information and encourages retaliators to keep silencing employees without fear of scrutiny or consequences.
"In short, our client is unwilling to be a political football, and is disappointed that the committees have been unwilling to negotiate one voluntary interview at which all could participate fully. Over the last month, although the Senate Finance Committee leadership has been unwilling to even consider a joint interview, they had indicated a willingness to at least coordinate scheduling."