Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel wrote to the House Ways and Means Committee on May 17 arguing that he did not intervene in Hunter Biden's tax probe to purge an IRS whistleblower's team.
"I want to state unequivocally that I have not intervened – and will not intervene – in any way that would impact the status of any whistleblower," reads the letter obtained by Fox News.
As per Werfel, the IRS whistleblower's team was abruptly removed from the probe last week at the orders of the US Department of Justice.
"The IRS whistleblower you reference alleges that the change in their work assignment came at the direction of the Department of Justice. As a general matter and not in reference to any specific case, I believe it is important to emphasize that in any matter involving federal judicial proceedings, the IRS follows the direction of the Justice Department."
The IRS commissioner told the committee that he had already contacted the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to learn more about the case. He added, however, that he wasn't able to share details with regard to the issue "in light of laws and policies designed to protect the integrity of pending proceedings."
Earlier, IRS whistleblower attorneys told Congress that the entire team that had been examining the first son's tax crimes over the last few years had been removed from the Hunter Biden probe after the IRS supervisory special agent, whose identity is kept secret, raised the red flag about alleged "preferential treatment and politics." The lawyers suggested that the removal was based on the Department of Justice's order, something that Werfel de facto confirmed in his May 17 letter.
Previously, the House Ways and Means Committee "freed" the IRS agent in question and his lawyers from 6103 tax privacy obligations so that they can provide sensitive information concerning Hunter Biden to Congress for further investigation.
In addition to "preferential treatment", allegations the IRS agent also cited a presumably false testimony to Congress by a "senior political appointee" have been raised. Later, the New York Post reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland is the appointee whose sworn testimony to Congress is being challenged.
On May 18, a second IRS whistleblower joined the supervisory special agent, complaining that DoJ officials supervising the Hunter Biden investigation had been failing to observe standards in the probe for years. It is expected that the first IRS whistleblower in the Hunter Biden case would testify behind closed doors before the House Ways and Means Committee on May 26.