IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler have filed a significant defamation lawsuit against Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, seeking $20 million in damages.

The lawsuit was filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and stems from accusations made by Lowell that Shapley and Ziegler violated federal law by disclosing grand jury materials and taxpayer information.

Shapley and Ziegler, both IRS agents, previously testified before Congress in May and June 2023, alleging that Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) gave preferential treatment to Hunter Biden during an investigation into his taxes and overseas business dealings.

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These whistleblowers also provided additional information concerning Hunter Biden’s business affairs and the controversial contents of his laptop.

Now, they are accusing Lowell of damaging their professional and personal reputations by falsely accusing them of illegal activity.

According to the complaint, Lowell’s defamatory statements were published to third parties, including the media. “Lowell’s malicious and false allegations, including accusations that Shapley and Ziegler ‘committed felonies’ and ‘violated the law,’ were published to third parties, including the media, and have severely harmed their professional and personal reputations,” the lawsuit reads.

The whistleblowers are seeking $10 million each in damages.

Shapley and Ziegler claim that Lowell acted with “clear malice” in his accusations, including the claim that they violated grand jury secrecy rules and taxpayer protection laws.

Among the cited examples is a letter Lowell sent to congressional committees on September 14, 2023, which allegedly repeated the false accusations in a public forum.

Additionally, the lawsuit mentions a letter Lowell released to the media, which included allegations from Hunter Biden’s legal team that Shapley and Ziegler leaked information about the investigation.

Both whistleblowers maintain that they acted “with honor and integrity” in exposing what they believed to be conflicts of interest, preferential treatment, and political motivations in the Hunter Biden investigation.

Their complaint further alleges that the DOJ initially denied Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss expanded authority to pursue charges against Hunter Biden.

They also claim that the Biden transition team was informed in advance of plans to interview Hunter Biden, which raised concerns about the impartiality of the investigation.

In June 2023, Shapley released a text message from Hunter Biden to a Chinese business partner in July 2017, in which Hunter stated that he was “sitting here with [his] father” awaiting the fulfillment of a business deal.

Shapley also alleged that the FBI authenticated Hunter Biden’s laptop in November 2019, before its contents were publicly reported in a New York Post story that was later censored by social media platforms.

Hunter Biden, who faces multiple legal issues related to his taxes, pleaded guilty last week to nine tax charges, including three felonies and six misdemeanors related to $1.4 million in unpaid taxes.

These charges stem from his failure to pay federal income taxes from 2016 to 2019. U.S. Attorney David Weiss alleged that Hunter Biden “engaged in a four-year scheme” to avoid paying his taxes and filed false tax returns in 2020.

Hunter Biden now faces a potential maximum sentence of 17 years in prison, with his sentencing set for December 16, 2023.

The whistleblowers’ lawsuit emphasizes that, despite political interference, their actions led to renewed attention on the Hunter Biden investigation, ultimately resulting in criminal charges.

“Though the Biden investigation was almost derailed, their efforts resulted in a new level of attention that led to criminal charges, and Biden has now pleaded guilty to all the charges of tax crimes brought against him,” the lawsuit states.

 

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