CNN anchor Poppy Harlow commended a whistleblower with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Thursday for testifying against Hunter Biden.
Joseph Ziegler testified before the House Ways and Means Committee and alleged the Department of Justice (DOJ) slow-walked an investigation into the first son’s tax violations in 2017 and 2018 by blocking evidence from being reviewed by agents. He alleged the DOJ did not follow recommendations by agents to prosecute Hunter and claimed U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland lied about political interference not being a factor in the investigation.
Ziegler worked on the investigation team from the time it opened in 2018 until his May 15 removal, which he said offered no explanation.
“Look, it takes a lot of guts. I just want to note this for our audience. It takes a lot of guts. I know you said your job was on the line when you came out here publicly to testify,” Harlow said.
Ziegler said the Justice Department is letting Hunter off the hook for crimes others spend time in jail for. He called for a Special Counsel to investigate the misdemeanor tax charges outside of Delaware. (RELATED: IRS Whistleblower Says DOJ Prevented Into Text Message Alleging Joe Biden’s Ties To Overseas Business Dealings)
Ziegler criticized two President Biden-appointed attorneys for rejecting to bring charges in their districts against the first son despite a DOJ tax manual stating prosecutors must charge a felony with a misdemeanor for certain tax crimes.
“You have taxpayers who are right now in New England who were charged, these are fisherman, they were charged with misdemeanor and felony tax charges for failing to file tax returns. I’m sure those people would like the same agreement that Hunter got in this situation, and that’s my argument is we have to treat people the same in our investigations and how we move forward those investigations.”
The first son’s plea deal fell apart after Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected the initial plea deal during his Wednesday court appearance. The judge said the prosecution and the defense teams were not in agreement on the scope of his immunity, particularly if Biden would be immune from being charged on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in the future.
After the teams’ deliberation, they revised the plea deal to allow Hunter to be charged by the DOJ in the future. The first son then changed his plea to not guilty.
Ziegler also told the House Weaponization Committee during a July 19 hearing the DOJ blocked the team from investigating a July 30, 2017, WhatsApp message allegedly sent from Hunter to a Chinese business official.
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father,” the message read.