The anonymous IRS whistleblower alleging political misconduct throughout the Hunter Biden investigation has revealed his identity as Joseph Ziegler — a gay Democrat with more than a dozen years serving within the agency’s criminal investigative division.
Ziegler appeared for the first time publicly before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, alongside his IRS supervisor Gary Shapley, who also has blown the whistle on political influence surrounding prosecutorial decisions throughout the years-long federal probe into the president's son.
He said he is a 13-year special agent within the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division and described himself as a "gay Democrat married to a man."
Ziegler is expected to testify that Hunter Biden "should have been charged with a tax felony, and not only the tax misdemeanor charge," and that communications and text messages reviewed by investigators "may be a contradiction to what President Biden was saying about not being involved in Hunter’s oversea business dealings."
He is expected to explain the "corrosion of ethical standards and the abuse of power that threaten our nation" that he has witnessed.
Ziegler is also expected to testify on several instances in which prosecutors "did not follow the ordinary process, slow-walked the investigation, and put in place unnecessary approvals and roadblocks from effectively and efficiently investigating the case," including prosecutors blocking questioning and interviewing of Hunter Biden’s adult children.
Ziegler is also expected to ask Congress and the Biden administration to "consider a special counsel" for the Hunter Biden investigation and "all the related cases and spin-off investigations that have come forward from this investigation."
He is expected to testify that Congress should consider "establishing an official channel for Federal investigators to pull the emergency cord and raise the issue of the appointment of a special counsel for consideration by your senior officials."
Shapley, who has participated in multiple media interviews since the House Ways & Means Committee released his transcribed interview last month, is expected to testify that prosecutors "had decided to conceal some evidence from the investigators" that they found on Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Shapley is also expected to say that the Delaware's U.S. Attorney's Office "slow-walked steps like conducting interviews, serving document requests, and pursuing physical search warrants in California, Virginia and Delaware" until after the 2020 presidential election.
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"The warrants were ready as early as April 2020, but the Delaware USAO pushed them off until after the November 2020 election and then never pursued them," Shapley will say.
"After an electronic search warrant on Hunter Biden’s Apple iCloud account led us to WhatsApp messages with several CEFC China Energy executives where he claimed to be sitting and discussing business with his father Joe Biden, we sought permission to follow up on the information in the messages," Shapley will say. "Prosecutors would not allow it."
Shapley will again testify that a search warrant for the guest house at the Bidens’ Delaware residence was being planned, but, despite agreeing there was "probable cause," Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf "cited the ‘optics’ of executing a search warrant at President Biden’s residence as the deciding factor for not allowing it to be completed."
"This was the decision even though she admitted there would be evidence at that location that would further the investigation," Shapley will say. "AUSA Wolf also told investigators they should not ask about President Biden during witness interviews even when the business communications of his son clearly referenced him."
