An IRS whistleblower who came forward to testify before Congress on Wednesday confirmed claims by House Republicans that Hunter Biden and his companies received more than $17 million from foreign sources over the years while his father was vice president.
The House Oversight Committee interviewed two IRS whistleblowers alleging political misconduct throughout the investigation of Hunter Biden: Special Agent Joseph Ziegler, whose identity was revealed during the hearing, and his IRS supervisor Gary Shapley, who previously blew the whistle on alleged political influence surrounding prosecutorial decisions during the year of the president’s son.
Ziegler told committee chairman James Comer, R-Ky., that Hunter Biden, his family members and business associates received more than $17 million due to business transactions in China, Ukraine and Romania.
Joe Ziegler, the former Internal Revenue Service whistleblower, testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability during a hearing on the criminal investigation into the Bidens on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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The deals included multimillion-dollar payments to companies linked to the Biden family from 2014 to 2019, including $7.3 million from Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.
“That brings the total amount of foreign income streams received to about $17 million, correct?” Comer asked Ziegler.
“That’s right,” Ziegler replied.
“The purpose of documenting foreign sources is part of a normal international tax investigation,” Ziegler said. “We have to figure out where the money is coming from.”
Supervisory IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley, left, and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler are sworn in as they testify during a House Oversight Committee hearing on the Justice Department’s Hunter Biden investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Drew Anger/Getty Images)
Comer argued that the foreign payments demonstrate “an influence peddling scheme to enrich the Bidens.”
“Despite building many companies after becoming vice president, the Biden family used associates companies to receive millions of dollars from foreign companies in China, Ukraine and Romania when the foreign companies sent money to business associates companies,” the chairman said. “The Bidens then received additional payments over time into various different bank accounts. These complex financial transactions were deliberately used to conceal the sources and total amounts of funds. This is not how any normal business operates.”
From left: Rep. Kelly Armstrong, RND; President Biden and his son Hunter Biden; and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. (Fox News)
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Ziegler, a self-identified gay Democrat who served for more than a dozen years in the IRS’s criminal investigation division, made his first public appearance Wednesday, while Shapley testified last month.
Whistleblowers alleged that Justice Department, FBI and IRS officials interfered in the Hunter Biden investigation and that decisions in the case were influenced by politics.
Source by [Fox News]
