US' RLS Removes Hunter Biden Probe Investigators

On Monday, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) removed the investigative team from their protracted tax fraud probe of Hunter Biden, in an apparent retaliation against a whistleblower who raised concerns about the handling of the case.

The whistleblower’s lawyers Mark Lytle and Tristan Leavitt wrote to Congress that the IRS Criminal Supervisory Special Agent they represent "was informed that he and his entire investigative team are being removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress. He was informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice."

The two also recalled that on April 27, 2023, IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel appeared before the House Committee on Ways and Means to testify "without any hesitation there will be no retaliation for anyone making an allegation or a call to a whistleblower hotline."

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"However, this move [by the IRS] is clearly retaliatory and may also constitute the obstruction of a congressional inquiry," the lawyers added.

They added that they "respectfully request that you [the IRS] give this matter your prompt attention” and that “removing the experienced investigators who have worked this case for years and are now the subject-matter experts is exactly the sort of issue our client intended to blow the whistle on to begin with."

This comes a few weeks after insiders revealed that US District Attorney of Delaware David Weiss is close to making a decision on whether to charge Hunter Biden with a crime over tax and gun-related offenses.

The First Son is reportedly being investigated by Weiss for two misdemeanor tax filing charges, one pertaining to a felony tax evasion and other - to a false statement about a gun purchase.

The federal probe into Hunter Biden’s "tax affairs" is said to have been partly based on Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) detailing fishy foreign transactions, with another insider claiming that these SARs were linked to money exchanges with "China and other foreign nations."

The probe was launched by US Attorney's Office in Delaware as early as 2018, but Hunter Biden said in December 2020 that he had learned about the investigation into his business deals only that month.

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The son of then-president-elect Joe Biden said at that time that he was taking the matter "very seriously" and was "confident" that he had always managed his affairs "legally and appropriately."

Apart from "tax affairs", Hunter Biden is being probed over a drug use, money laundering and illegal business dealings in foreign countries including Ukraine and China, with investigators specifically looking into the content of Hunter Biden's so-called "laptop from Hell", which purportedly includes naked photos and graphic videos of the 46th president's son.

'Entire Investigative Team' Removed From Hunter Biden Tax Probe