US House Lawmaker Says Whistleblowers Allege Preferential Treatment Of Hunter Biden

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd June, 2023) US House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith said on Thursday that the panel has received whistleblower testimony alleging government misconduct that has resulted in preferential treatment for US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

"I can now confirm that we have credible whistleblower testimony alleging misconduct and government abuse that is resulting in preferential treatment for the president's son, Hunter Biden," Smith said during a press conference.

Earlier this month, Hunter Biden's attorneys announced a deal with the Justice Department to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversionary agreement on a felony firearms offense. Republicans have criticized the arrangement as too lenient.

The IRS whistleblowers' testimony alleges that the Federal government is not treating US taxpayers equally in enforcing tax laws, that the Justice Department is "intervening and overstepping" in regard to investigations involving Hunter Biden, and that the whistleblowers have faced retaliation for coming forward, Smith said.

The whistleblowers were working on an investigation into Hunter Biden that opened in November 2018 as an offshoot of a separate corporate probe by the IRS, Smith said. The investigation was in the "ordinary course of work" at the IRS and not ordered by any individual or political entity, Smith said.

The IRS recommended charges against Hunter Biden, including felony tax evasion and fraud charges, Smith said.

The tax crimes cover an estimated $2.2 million in unreported tax on global income streams to Biden and his associates from Ukraine, Romania, and China, totaling $17.3 million from 2014 to 2019, Smith said.

Biden personally received $8.3 million, including $664,000 from a Chinese company, Smith added.

The whistleblowers claim IRS investigators were "hamstrung" in their attempts to probe Hunter Biden, Smith said. Investigators were told by a US attorney that because evidence would be found in the guest house of Joe Biden, there was "no way" a search warrant would ever get approved, Smith said.

Crucial information about the investigation was also divulged to Hunter Biden's attorneys, Smith said.

The whistleblowers report that they faced almost immediate retaliation for attempting to raise their concerns, Smith said.

"The scales of justice cannot be tipped in the favor of the wealthy and the politically connected. No one is above the law," Smith said.

The House Ways and Means Committee's release of the IRS whistleblowers' testimony comes alongside a probe by the House Oversight Committee into the alleged weaponization of the US government, including federal law enforcement. House lawmakers are also probing claims from an FBI informant who alleges that Joe and Hunter Biden received millions in a bribery scheme involving Ukrainian energy company Burisma.