Retribution? IRS agent who blew whistle on Biden family given ultimatum: accept demotion or leave

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, whose testimony to Congress changed the course of the Biden family corruption case and resulted in Hunter Biden’s felony convictions, has been given an ultimatum from his agency: accept a forced transfer, a demotion or leave the agency, according to correspondence reviewed by Just the News.

In a letter dated Oct. 15, Shapley was given three options for his future at the IRS: leave his post as a supervisory special agent in Chicago and accept a job as a senior analyst in Washington, accept a pay cut and demotion to criminal investigator or resign/retire. The letter was delivered to Shapley this week, according to his lawyer.

"You must indicate your intent by selecting one of the three options below. Please sign, date, and return this document to your manager and me no later than fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of this notice,” the letter to Shapley read.

The IRS portrayed the ultimatum as part of a diversity program for “development of future leaders” and “the continued growth, success and sustainability of our organization.”

“The mobility of our leaders will showcase diversity of thought, breadth of experience, and technical and interpersonal expertise for a successful future,” the letter stated.

You can read the full letter here.

One of Shapley’s whistleblower attorneys alleged Wednesday the personnel move was really a form of continuing “retaliation” that began more than a year ago when the agent was passed over for promotions and he urged the federal whistleblower protection agency to take immediate action to protect his client.

The Office of Special Counsel “should issue an immediate stay while they conduct their investigation into the 4 promotions SSA Shapley has been passed over for since he blew the whistle, and provide a briefing to Congress on what they have done to date,” Tristan Leavitt, the president of the Empower Oversight whistleblower center, wrote on X.

“It's been 17 months since we filed with OSC about the first promotion the IRS passed over SSA Shapley for, and OSC has yet to issue any findings,” Leavitt added.

The IRS has steadfastly denied retaliating against Shapley, a claim that Congress has questioned.

Leavitt’s group has represented and backed Shapley and fellow IRS agent Joseph Ziegler as they informed the House Ways and Means  and  Oversight Committees that they witnessed irregularities and political interference in their efforts to probe and prosecute first son Hunter Biden for tax and other violations.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who led the Biden family investigation in Congress and played a major role in obtaining the whistleblowers' evidence, told Just the News on Wednesday night he is deeply concerned by the new developments.

“Two brave IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, placed their careers on the line to blow the whistle and now the IRS is out for revenge," Comer said. "These whistleblowers made lawful, protected disclosures and exposed America’s two-tiered system of justice that allows the politically connected to operate above the law. 

"Any retaliation against these two will not be tolerated and the House Oversight Committee will be calling on the IRS and the United States Office of Special Counsel to answer for this," he added.

Smith, the Ways and Means chairman who oversees the IRS, issued a similarly stern warning.

“The Commissioner of the IRS stood before the Ways and Means Committee and testified that there would be no retaliation against any whistleblowers,” Smith told Just the News. “But after agents Shapley and Ziegler came forward to expose the two tiered justice system and special treatment afforded to the Bidens during their investigation, we now see that his commitment may very well prove to be even weaker than the initial charges Hunter Biden himself faced.”

Congressional committees ultimately corroborated the two agents’ claims with evidence and testimony and the controversy resulted in the termination of a sweetheart plea deal that would have spared Hunter Biden prison time for a variety of offenses.

Hunter Biden subsequently stood trial and was convicted of felony gun charges in Delaware and pled guilty to tax crimes in California. He faces the possibility of prison time in a foreign business scandal that was originally portrayed as Russian disinformation but that ultimately proved a serious black eye for a Biden family that enriched itself with millions of dollars of money from Ukraine, China and other foreign countries while Joe Biden was vice president.

Congress also confirmed that Hunter Biden received millions of dollars in support from a Hollywood lawyer and Biden donor while Joe Biden has served as president.

The flow of foreign funds and the criminal charges all started from an investigation that Shapley and Ziegler started in 2019 code-named Sportsman.

The agents told Congress their efforts to investigate allegations against President Joe Biden, interview Biden family members or bring serious charges against the first son were thwarted in what appeared to be an organized effort at political interference in a criminal case.

Shapley, a decorated agent and supervisor, and Ziegler, a Democrat, said they came forward not for political reasons but because they believed Hunter Biden should be treated the same as other defendants suspected of cheating on taxes.

“I'm pro-IRS. I'm pro mission. I'm pro agency,” Shapley told Just the News in an exclusive interview in June 2023. “I've been a senior leader at this agency, I have a lot of great friends in senior leadership. And I believe in what we're doing. But I believe in what we're doing, when we're treating people fairly. And, you know, it just didn't happen in this particular case.”

You can listen to that interview here.

Their emergency transformed the narrative around the Biden family foreign business scandal, convincing legacy media sites like CBS News and The New York Times to give it serious coverage and to end suggestions the allegations against the first family were simply Russia propaganda or conservative disinformation.