Lawmakers on Capitol Hill react to IRS whistleblowers’ testimony
Two whistleblowers told a congressional committee Justice Department officials interfered with the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden.
WASHINGTON – The two IRS whistleblowers who alleged the Justice Department meddled in an investigation into President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, were not convincing, Democrats told Fox News.
"I believe that they believe themselves. Whether they're right or wrong, really is in their mind and the determination of other people," Rep. Kweisi Mfume said. "I happen to believe that they're wasting time on this."
Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News)
Rep. Daniel Goldman told Fox News, "They are good-faith actors who misconstrue the third-hand information that they received.
"I think they were frustrated that the case didn't move forward as they had hoped after all their hours," the New York Democrat continued. "They were frustrated that they were removed from the case after there were significant leaks to The Washington Post, and they're expressing their frustration in this way."
Hunter Biden's legal team alleged the whistleblowers leaked investigation information to The Washington Post, but the whistleblowers' lawyers have pushed back against that claim.
REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS SPLIT ON WHETHER IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE TRUSTWORTHY:
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Joseph Ziegler, a 13-year special agent for the IRS whose identity was revealed Wednesday, and Greg Shapley, a former IRS investigation supervisor, claimed the Justice Department did not handle the investigation into Hunter Biden in an ordinary way.
The two were invited to testify at a hearing before leaders of the House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability and Ways and Means committees.
The whistleblowers claimed there was a pattern of "slow-walking investigative steps" into the president's son before the 2020 presidential election and efforts to tip off Hunter before investigative actions.
In one case, Shapely recalled that an assistant U.S. attorney told Hunter Biden's lawyers the IRS was readying to execute a search warrant on a storage unit used by the president's son.
Supervisory IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley, left, and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler are sworn in to testify during a House Oversight Committee hearing related to the Justice Department's investigation of Hunter Biden. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The tip destroyed "our chance to get to evidence before being destroyed, manipulated or concealed," Shapely said.
House Republicans believed the whistleblowers.
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"I think they're very credible," Republican Rep. Russell Fry told Fox News. "Their testimony has been corroborated by the FBI, who just was in here this week."
Ziegler, a Democrat, "doesn't fit the mold of a partisan hack" Fry said.
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., said both of the IRS whistleblowers are credible. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News)
Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican, agreed.
"They're absolutely credible," Smith said. "Their facts are lining up. No one has countered anything that they have said."
Lawmakers noted the personal risks taken by the whistleblowers to come forward.
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"They're showing tremendous courage to come forward," Republican Rep. Gary Palmer told Fox News. "And it shows something that I think has been sorely lacking in the Biden administration, and that is fidelity to uphold the laws of the United States."
Fry agreed. "They are putting their own careers and their families at risk by being here," he said.
To watch full interviews with lawmakers, click here.
Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
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