By Spencer Brown | Townhall.com
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Since Republicans retook control of Congress, oversight and investigations have been moving at a break-neck pace assisted by whistleblowers from federal agencies who have proven willing to risk their careers in order to expose the inner workings of Biden's administrative state.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House Oversight Committee chaired by James Comer (R-KY) will convene a hearing with two IRS whistleblowers to learn more about the agency's handling of the Hunter Biden investigation. One, Gary Shapley, has already become known for his testimony about what he witnessed as a supervisory agent. The other is identified by the Oversight Committee as "Whistleblower X."
Whistleblower X says in his opening statement that he's a gay Democrat who's been with the IRS since 2010 after working as an external auditor for Ernst & Young. His IRS career included work on tax and money laundering investigations and as a health care fraud coordinator and a public information officer. Subsequently, "X" became part of the International Tax and Financial Crimes Group based in D.C. in 2018.
"X" will tell Congress on Wednesday, according to his opening statement released Wednesday morning by the Oversight Committee:
I have witnessed the corrosion of ethical standards and the abuse of power that threaten our nation. It is within this context that I have chosen to shed light on these actions and expose those responsible. I recognize that while I was present at the start of this investigation and was closely involved with the investigation for roughly five years – that I'm just a part of the story. Others – including my colleague and supervisor Gary Shapley who is here with me today – have their own views and understandings of what took place during this investigation.
X will also address arguments that have been made against the revelations from whistleblowers who have shed a light on the dubious handling of the Hunter Biden investigation:
Mr. Weiss stated that he had been granted "ultimate authority" over this matter but then later stated in the same letter that his "charging authority" is geographically "limited" and that he would need to ask President Biden appointed U.S. Attorney's[sic] to "partner" with him in charging the case. We know that as recently in March of 2023, even the Department of Justice-Tax Division attorney assigned to the case questioned Mr. Weiss's authority and didn't know where Mr. Weiss was going to charge the case.
In addition, X will offer more information about his decision to come forward as a whistleblower after "multiple attempts at blowing the whistle internally" at the IRS:
My own agency retaliated against me and threatened me with criminal conduct in response to an internal email I sent to IRS leadership, even after years of essentially being left on an island when it came to this investigation. It is not my desire to become a martyr for this case — and I fear effectively ending my career. I did not ask to be in this position, nor did I want to be...
At the end of the day, I worked on a complex criminal tax investigation over the last 5 years and the investigative process is 999% done and we were in the process of bringing the case to indictment. Since October of 2022, the Delaware AUSAs and DOJ-Tax had effectively stopped communicating with me and my team has ultimately been removed from the investigative team.
Whistleblower X will also provide a rebuttal to claims of partisanship on his part and statements about credibility related to his identity:
I had recently heard an elected official say that I must be more credible, because I am a gay democrat married to a man. I'm no more credible than this man sitting next to me due to my sexual orientation or my political beliefs. I was raised and have always strived to do what is right. I have heard from some, that I am a trator to the democratic party and that I am causing more division in our society. I implore you, that if you were put in my position with the facts as I have stated them, that you would be doing the exact same thing – regardless of your political party affiliation. I hope that I am an example to other LGBTQ people out there, who are questioning doing the right thing at a potential cost to themselves and others. We should ALWAYS do the right thing, no matter how painful the process might be. I contemplated scenarios that would have been highly regrettable. But I did what was right and I am sitting in front of you here today.
Whistleblower X's statement (embedded in full below) will also dive into how the case was initiated, subsequently transitioned to the Delaware U.S. Attorney's office, and when prosecutors began taking actions that blocked progress or were outside of normal processes. He also dives into how the recommendation for prosecution in the case was made before prosecutors refused to assist with the case and communication between IRS investigators and prosecutors was stopped.
X concludes his statement by saying "it is not difficult to believe that appointing a special counsel in this matter is the best way to go forward to give everyone confidence in the fairness of our tax system."
"The U.S. Attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited, and marginalized by DOJ officials as well as other U.S. Attorneys," X will reiterate. "I still view that a special counsel for this case would have cut through the toughest problems that continue to make problems for this case."
That third party oversight, X will explain, should also "consider the appropriateness of this special counsel taking under their authority all the related cases and spin-off investigations that have come forward from this investigation, related cases that I believe are subject to the same problems and difficulties we had."
As for what can be done to salvage some of Americans' confidence in their government and its institutions, X will recommend that "an official channel for Federal investigators to pull the emergency cord and raise the issue of the appointment of a social counsel for consideration" be established. "I do not want my colleagues at the IRS, FBI, and other Federal law enforcement agencies to go through my frustrating and disheartening journey."
