House GOP Probes OSC's Role in IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

Exclusive: House Republicans are investigating whether the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) contributed to alleged retaliation and a "smear campaign" against IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who reported political influence in the Hunter Biden probe.

Supervisory IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler are at the center of a congressional investigation into alleged retaliation and a "smear campaign" by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC). House Republicans are examining whether the OSC has played a role in these actions against the whistleblowers, who have made allegations of political influence in the Hunter Biden investigation.

House GOP Probes OSC's Role in IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith requested a briefing from the OSC to determine any improper influence surrounding the IRS whistleblowers' claims.

"IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler have been wholly consistent in their testimony about misconduct and politicization in the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation of Hunter Biden," the Republican leaders stated. "They did exactly what an honorable government employee should do: when they witnessed wrongdoing, they reported it responsibly and made legally protected disclosures."

House GOP Probes OSC's Role in IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

Shapley, who led the IRS portion of the Biden probe, and Ziegler have alleged political interference in prosecutorial decisions throughout the investigation, which began in 2018. Shapley has said decisions "at every stage" of the probe "had the effect of benefiting the subject of the investigation."

Ziegler has also stated that 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 overseas business dealings."

House GOP Probes OSC's Role in IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

The whistleblowers allege that federal investigators "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 certain questioning and interviewing of Biden’s adult children.

The House GOP letter to the OSC Acting Principal Deputy Special Counsel Karen Gorman focuses specifically on Shapley's protected disclosures about the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, alleging prosecutorial misconduct in the Hunter Biden investigation. They claim that then-U.S. Attorney, now-special counsel David Weiss, retaliated against Shapley after learning of the disclosure of his office's alleged wrongdoing.

House GOP Probes OSC's Role in IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

The Republicans also note that Weiss filed a redacted document related to the whistleblowers with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, which led to speculation about whether the whistleblowers were under investigation for wrongdoing. However, they have received information proving that Shapley and Ziegler are not under investigation.

Empower Oversight, the legal group representing Shapley and Ziegler, had previously alleged that Weiss misled the public by suggesting an unnamed federal agency was investigating the two whistleblowers for misconduct. Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight, stated that Weiss retaliated against Shapley for objecting to the statute of limitations lapse on 2014 felony tax charges against Hunter Biden and for reporting on Weiss' office's alleged actions to his superiors.

House GOP Probes OSC's Role in IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

Weiss indicted Hunter Biden on federal gun charges in Delaware and was found guilty on all counts last week. Biden has pleaded not guilty to federal tax crimes, with the trial scheduled to begin on September 5th.

The OSC has confirmed receipt of the House GOP letter but declined to comment. Hampton Dellinger, who was nominated by President Biden to be special counsel, recused himself from the OSC's investigation related to the whistleblowers' claims due to his previous work on matters related to Burisma with Hunter Biden.

House GOP Probes OSC's Role in IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

The House GOP investigation into the OSC's role in the IRS whistleblower retaliation allegations continues, with the lawmakers seeking a briefing to ensure there has been no improper influence on the OSC's investigation.