Two more whistleblowers testify contradicting Merrick Garland claims on Hunter Biden tax probe

Two new IRS whistleblowers have come forward with evidence suggesting Attorney General Merrick Garland is a liar.

Speaking recently before the House Ways and Means Committee, IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf and DC IRS Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon claimed that current special counsel David Weiss was “not the deciding person” when it came to charging Hunter Biden with tax crimes.

This bombshell claim contradicts what Garland previously told Congress.

“Garland has repeatedly insisted to lawmakers — most recently on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee — that Weiss, the US attorney for Delaware, had ‘full authority’ to bring cases against Hunter Biden anywhere he wished and that Garland would not personally interfere in the probe,” according to the New York Post.

Former FBI agent in Hunter Biden case confirms IRS whistleblower’s allegations in ‘sickening testimony’ https://t.co/A1rYyssFdy via @BIZPACReview

— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) July 18, 2023

Yet Batdorf testified on the 12th of this month that the DOJ’s Tax Division would have had to sign off on any charges that then-investigator Weiss wanted to pursue.

“[M]y understanding would be that DOJ Tax has to authorize it first. So, I mean, my understanding is that, I mean, he can’t make that [charging] decision without DOJ Tax authorization,” the 22-year IRS veteran reportedly said.

Batdorf further revealed that IRS investigators had pushed back against charges for Hunter at the same time that they were meeting with Hunter’s lawyers. They reportedly met with the lawyers “more than two” times.

“Is it typical in a tax investigation to meet with defense counsel two, three, four times?” he was asked while testifying.

“No,” Batdorf replied.

“Batdorf also said he had signed off on a report recommending felony and misdemeanor tax charges dating back to 2014 against Hunter, now 53 — including counts related to income from the first son’s position on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings,” according to the New York Post.

“That income was referenced in notes IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley took during an Oct. 7, 2022 meeting in which he alleged that Weiss divulged that he was not the ‘deciding official on whether charges are filed,’” the Post notes.

Hunter Biden sues IRS claiming he was a ‘target’ of his father’s agency, agents tried to ’embarrass’ him https://t.co/xMMzMzP7l6 pic.twitter.com/vXfWUzgHik

— BPR (@BIZPACReview) September 21, 2023

During that same Oct. 7th meeting, he learned that Hunter would not be charged for tax offenses committed a decade earlier. Shapley disagreed with this decision.

As for Waldon, he testified on Sept. 8th that “he understood Shapley’s description of Weiss not being the ‘deciding person’ as referring to the process of working with fellow US attorneys to bring cases against Hunter Biden in Southern California and Washington, DC — again contrary to Garland’s testimony that ‘no one had the authority’ to reject Weiss if he wanted to file charges there,” the Post notes.

“Anytime a US attorney has to go into another district, there is a process where they collaborate … they talk and decide whether or not they’re going to participate … It was my understanding that they did not want to collaborate on the case,” he said.

“There was processes that Mr. Weiss would have to work out with the Department of Justice, and that’s my basic understanding,” he added.

Both he and Batdorf had nothing but praise for Shapley.

“Gary is a fantastic agent. He’s a bulldog. He will get to the bottom of it,” Batdorf said.

“Waldon, for his part, answered affirmatively when asked to confirm that Shapley had received the ‘highest performance rating in recent years,’” the Post notes.

Yet despite this praise for Shapley, both men — Batdorf and Waldon — tried to remove him from the case.

“I mean, the decision to remove Mr. Shapley was made by Darrell and I in December, when we knew there was an issue — potential issue going forward. Gary has a tendency to go to level, like grade-seven, five-alarm fire on everything. He has a mindset that if you don’t agree with him, I mean, you’re just incompetent,” Batdorf testified.

“Before I left the special agent in charge position, in February, I recommended to Mr. Batdorf that Gary Shapley be removed as the SSA from the Hunter Biden investigation, primarily due to what I perceived to be unsubstantiated allegations about motive, intent, bias. And, again, my goal was to protect the integrity of the investigation and figure out a way forward,” Waldon likewise said.

‘That was my red line’: Whistleblower names Biden donor US attorney who ‘refused to bring charges’ against Hunter https://t.co/JfcJ2aV9S6 pic.twitter.com/AWPFxiqvYq

— BPR (@BIZPACReview) July 23, 2023

Waldon reportedly also recalled a conversation with Weiss in which Weiss said “he was not going to be responding to Mr. Shapley’s emails anymore” due to “a conflict around discovery.”

“The US Attorney’s Office was no longer working or talking with Mr. Shapley. And there was no immediate — I didn’t think that that would be resolved quickly. And in order to move the investigation forward, I recommended that, you know, he be removed,” he said.

Batdorf meanwhile “told investigators that Weiss thought Shapley was being too slow to hand over evidence for discovery purposes in the fall of 2022 — evidence that purportedly detailed Shapley’s issues with Weiss’ handling of the probe,” the Post notes.

“So, when Mr. Weiss was pushing to get discovery in mid-November, or late October, and then following up in mid-November, he was pushing to get information from Mr. Shapley that would include Mr. Shapley reporting about concerns he had about Mr. Weiss’ conduct in this matter. Is that fair?” Batdorf was asked while testifying.

“Yeah. If it was in that time frame he’s requesting, yes. Yes, it’s fair,” he replied.

Senior Staff Writer — [email protected]
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.

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