The Trump administration has hired two IRS whistleblowers to spearhead "reform" at the agency.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on X that former IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who alleged a cover-up of Hunter Biden's tax crimes, have been hired as senior advisers.
"I am pleased to welcome Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to the @USTreasury Department, where they will help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS," Bessent wrote Tuesday morning on X.
"These veteran civil servants join us to help further the agency's focus on collections, modernization, and customer service. I appreciate [Iowa Republican] Sen. @ChuckGrassley's efforts in Congress to support whistleblower protections in order to improve transparency, accountability and root out the culture of retaliation."
Grassley urged the hiring of Shapley and Ziegler to leadership positions.
"As I noted in my letter to Secretary Bessent last month, if we reinstate whistleblowers who have been retaliated against, it will send a clear signal that pointing out wrongdoing is an honorable thing to do," Grassley wrote in a statement. "It will help change the culture of our bureaucracy. I'm very grateful to Secretary Bessent for supporting Gary and Joe, and I have no doubt they will be a boon to the Treasury Department in their new roles.
"Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler put their entire careers on the line to stand up for the truth, and instead of being thanked, the Biden administration treated them like skunks at a picnic.
"Far too many whistleblowers share a similar experience of retaliation. I hope today is the first of many redemption stories for whistleblowers who've been mistreated. By taking a stand for whistleblowers, President Trump and his Cabinet are ushering in a new era of transparency and accountability."
Shapley and Ziegler issued a joint statement.
"We are enormously grateful to Secretary Bessent, Sen. Grassley, and all of the members of Congress for their leadership and trust," they wrote. "We have been motivated by one singular mantra: do what's right, and do it the right way. It has not been easy, but having a clear conscience is worth the effort.
"We appreciate the opportunity Secretary Bessent is giving us to put our experience and firsthand knowledge to good use for the American people to eliminate waste and reform the IRS."
During a House committee hearing in July 2023, Shapley and Ziegler testified that President Joe Biden's Justice Department effectively obstructed and minimized its criminal investigation into Hunter Biden's tax crimes.
They told lawmakers that when they recommended felony and misdemeanor charges to U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the charges were "slow-walked" by the Biden DOJ, allowing the statute of limitations to expire and ultimately leaving just a "sweetheart" plea deal on a misdemeanor.
In October last year, the two whistleblowers told investigative reporter Catherine Herridge that the DOJ, FBI, and IRS all knew the infamous Biden laptop "was real" immediately after it came to light and prosecutors told investigators not to ask questions about Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election.
Shapley was Ziegler's supervisor in the Hunter Biden criminal tax investigation. Ziegler was the special agent in charge of the probe.
The infamous "laptop from hell" was originally abandoned by first son Hunter Biden at a Delaware computer repair shop before being retrieved and authenticated by the FBI.
In October 2020, the New York Post first reported the abandoned laptop included of influence-peddling, drug use, and other lurid activity.
Government officials, social media companies, and the mainstream media refused to acknowledge the authenticity of the laptop, instead saying it was part of a Russian disinformation effort.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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