You might think that Hunter Biden has embarrassed himself. Between the photos and information on his laptop, his abominable conduct at home and abroad, and his not managing to make much of his life despite having every advantage, he’s not necessarily someone to look up to or take seriously as a functional adult. But now he’s suing the IRS, alleging that it tried to embarrass him.
The lawsuit revolves around the two IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who drew attention to the IRS investigation of Hunter Biden, claiming that the agency mishandled looking into his tax payments and conduct.
Rather than characterizing the agents as being heroes preserving the public’s ability to keep an eye on their leaders and at least know what corruption they are up to, the lawsuit predictably smears them as underhanded rouges who have “targeted and sought to embarrass” the president’s son in their roles as IRS agents.
And so the lawsuit is demanding that the court declare the IRS “willfully, knowingly, and/or by gross negligence, unlawfully disclosed Mr. Biden’s confidential tax information.” Further, it demands $1,000 in damages for “each and every unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns.”
First, the lawsuit admits that Hunter has the same duties and responsibilities despite being the president’s son, noting, “Biden is the son of the President of the United States. He has all the same responsibilities as any other American citizen, and the IRS can and should make certain that he abides by those responsibilities.”
It then continues, arguing that he shouldn’t be treated differently by a government agency as the result of his status either, arguing, “Similarly, Mr. Biden has no fewer or lesser rights than any other American citizen, and no government agency or government agent has free rein to violate his rights simply because of who he is.”
Next it argues that the IRS is letting its agents treat Hunter differently by leaking his tax returns, arguing, “Yet the IRS and its agents have conducted themselves under a presumption that the rights that apply to every other American citizen do not apply to Mr. Biden.”
Continuing, the lawsuit claims that the two agents might be whistleblowers, but that their status on that front “cannot and does not shield them from their wrongful conduct in making unauthorized public disclosures that are not permitted by the whistleblower process.”
Shapley’s attorneys tore into the lawsuit with a vengeance, writing, “This suit against the IRS is just another frivolous smear by Biden family attorneys trying to turn people’s attention away from Hunter Biden’s own legal problems and intimidate any current and future whistleblower. The federal judge in Delaware who oversaw the aborted plea deal shot down similar claims against the whistleblowers after they exposed the secret backroom deal between Hunter Biden and the Department of Justice. Neither IRS SSA Gary Shapley nor his attorneys have ever released any confidential taxpayer information except through whistleblower disclosures authorized by statute. Once Congress released that testimony, like every American citizen, he has a right to discuss that public information.”
Featured image credit: By Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C, United States – 210120-D-WD757-2097, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99135585
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