Hunter Biden is the son of President Biden. He claims that releasing his tax records violates IRS rules. Biden pleaded guilty earlier this year to two misdemeanor charges related to the filing of his federal income tax returns.
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Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, claims that the IRS has violated its rules by releasing his tax records. Biden pleaded guilty earlier this year to two misdemeanor charges related to the filing of his federal income tax returns.
Mark Makela/Getty Images
The complaint claims that IRS agents have “targeted and tried to embarrass Mr. Biden through public statements made to the media where they and their representatives revealed confidential information about private citizens’ tax affairs. The lawsuit does not name the IRS agents but it clearly refers to Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler’s public statements that the U.S. Justice Department treated Biden with preferential treatment. The two also took their complaints to a House committee.
Biden’s filing comes days after the president’s son was indicted on felony gun charges after a plea deal he struck with prosecutors fell apart. Biden also agreed to enter a pretrial diversion agreement for a felony firearm offense, which allows him to avoid prosecution. But that deal fell apart in July when the judge demanded that lawyers from both sides make it clear that the deal did not convey broad immunity offered to Biden against prosecution on his business dealings and foreign lobbying. Federal authorities also charged him with a felony firearm offense, for which he agreed to enter a pretrial diversion agreement that allows him to avoid prosecution.
But that deal fell apart in July when the judge in the case demanded that lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal did not convey broad immunity offered to Biden from prosecution on his business dealings and foreign lobbying.
“This lawsuit is not about the legitimacy of the IRS investigation of Mr. Biden over the past five years or any decision to penalize Mr. Biden for any failure to comply with his obligations under the tax laws,” Biden’s attorneys wrote in the complaint.
The lawsuit is also not about the federal whistleblower statute or the ability of an “official using those procedures properly to make disclosures to authorized government officials,” the lawsuit said.
“Rather, the lawsuit is about the decision by IRS employees, their representatives, and others to disregard their obligations and repeatedly and intentionally publicly disclose and disseminate Mr. Biden’s protected tax return information outside the exceptions for making disclosures in the law,” the complaint said. The lawsuit is not about the federal whistleblower statute or an official’s ability to make disclosures to authorized government officials using those procedures properly.