IRS Agent Comes Forward as Whistleblower in Hunter Biden Case

IRS Agent Comes Forward as Whistleblower in Hunter Biden Case
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, at the White House on April 18, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Savannah Hulsey Pointer
4/20/2023
Updated:
4/23/2023

An IRS criminal supervisory agent is seeking whistleblower status, saying they have information that the Biden administration mishandled the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s business dealings.

In an April 19 letter, attorney Mark D. Lytle of the Washington-based law firm Nixon Peabody LLP addressed members of the House of Representatives and Senate, saying his unnamed client has been in charge of an “ongoing and sensitive investigation of a high-profile, controversial subject since early 2020 and would like to make protected whistleblower disclosures to Congress.”

The attorney said his client wants to offer a nonpartisan group of relevant committees information “necessary to exercise” their constitutional oversight function.

Although the letter didn’t mention Hunter Biden by name, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an April 20 interview on Fox News that the whistleblower was bringing information about a potential conflict of interest with the Hunter Biden investigation.

According to Lytle’s letter, his client has made legally protected disclosures to the IRS, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General, the Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Justice.

Those disclosures reportedly contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee, involve the failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the case, detail examples of preferential treatment, and describe the infection of decision-making and protocols with politics.

“My goal is to ensure that my client can properly share his lawfully protected disclosures with congressional committees,” Lytle wrote. “Thus, I respectfully request that your committees work with me to facilitate sharing this information with Congress legally and with the fully informed advice of counsel.”

During his interview, Graham called the allegations “a game changer,” saying that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has said he’s “very interested” in the topic.

“This is somebody in the IRS at a high level, who apparently is willing to come forward to tell the Congress that during the investigation of Hunter Biden, there was obstruction, there was a thumb on the scale to the point that they feel they need to let the Congress know if this is true.”

Graham went on to say that he doesn’t yet know whether the allegations are true but that if the Department of Justice did have bias in its investigation, there would be a hefty price to pay.

The South Carolina Republican also said the dozens of intelligence officers who assured the American people the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian in origin should be called to account for how they came to their information.

The White House responded to journalist’s request for comment on the allegations, insisting that there was no “political interference” in the Hunter Biden probe.

White House spokesman Ian Sams told Fox News Digital on April 20: “Since he took office and consistent with his campaign promise that he would restore the independence of the Justice Department when it comes to decision-making in criminal investigations, President Biden has made clear that this matter would be handled independently by the Justice Department, under the leadership of a U.S. Attorney appointed by former President Trump, free from any political interference by the White House. He has upheld that commitment.”
During a White House press briefing on the same day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to questions about the IRS whistleblower and Hunter Biden case by saying the White House doesn’t have a comment on the subject. She referred reporters to the Department of Justice and White House counsel’s office.
Emel Akan contributed to this report.