Whistleblower(s) from IRS sworn testimony on Biden Investigation

[Luvnit2]

(07-19-2023, 04:46 AM)pally Wrote: That’s a pretty standard guidance letter given to any federal officer testifying.  Nothing nefarious about it.  He can’t discuss on ongoing investigation. He can’t discuss anything that falls under executive privilege.  Same guidelines have been provided for years it is not particular to this case. That’s the counsel’s job, to remind witnesses of the legal parameters of their testimony.

Wrong again, he has protected whistleblower status. He already testified.  The whole point of a whistleblower is they can tell the truth without fear of retribution. I know the truth in this case is against what you want, but too late, the world gets to hear it today.

[Luvnit2]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/irs-agent-whistleblower-x-opening-statement-revealed-american-people-deserve-know-truth

Here we go, starts at 1 p.m.

According to an opening statement released ahead of the hearing, the unidentified official intends to describe himself as a "whistleblower compelled to disclose the truth" and to shed light on "the shadow that looms over our federal legal system."

"I have witnessed the corrosion of ethical standards and the abuse of power that threaten our nation. It is within this context that I have chosen to shed light on these actions and expose those responsible. I recognize that while I was present at the start of this investigation and was closely involved with the investigation for roughly five years — that I am just a part of the story," the opening statement continued. "My aim is to address systemic problems that have allowed misconduct to flourish. It is not a call for blame but a call for accountability and reform."

"Transparency is the foundation of our democracy," the unidentified IRS agent will tell Congress Wednesday. "Without it, people lose their trust in the institutions and the bonds that tie the fabric of our nation start to fray. The American people deserve to know the truth no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may be for either political party."

The IRS whistleblowers claim there was a pattern of "slow-walking investigative steps" into Hunter Biden, which included instructions not to speak with him at his residence, tipping the president’s son and staff off about the ongoing efforts and delaying enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 presidential election.

In one specific case, Shapley described IRS agents’ efforts to execute a search warrant of a storage facility in Virginia where the younger Biden’s documents were being stored. He said the assistant U.S. attorney involved in the case reached out to Hunter Biden’s lawyers and the tip-off ruined "our chance to get to evidence before being destroyed, manipulated, or concealed."
Shapley claims Weiss was denied this request but both Weiss and the Justice Department refuted the claim. They said Weiss had "full authority" of the case and never sought to bring charges in other states.

The second IRS whistleblower said he started the investigation into Hunter Biden in 2015 and described persistent frustrations with the way the case was handled, including under the Trump administration and then-Attorney General William Barr.

[GMDino]

(07-18-2023, 02:07 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I am heading to Alaska on a cruise ship so I will miss the whistleblowers testimony Wednesday. 

(07-19-2023, 12:10 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/irs-agent-whistleblower-x-opening-statement-revealed-american-people-deserve-know-truth

Here we go, starts at 1 p.m.

[hollodero]

What is Mr. Raskin wearing on his head?

[GMDino]

(07-19-2023, 02:24 PM)hollodero Wrote: What is Mr. Raskin wearing on his head?

He is undergoing chemo.  He has been wearing that to cover his head.

[GMDino]

The person wearing the "murdered by capitol police" shirt (I'm assuming that Babbit) behind Ziegler is a nice touch.

[GMDino]

So far Ziegler has a lot of opinions and is upset there was a plea deal.

Oh.

[hollodero]

I might understand this all wrong, but as of now it seems to me the Democrats don't have much to offer as a counter.

Asking 20 times whether Biden was president at different dates and rambling on about Trump is not quite convincing.

[GMDino]

(07-19-2023, 03:32 PM)hollodero Wrote: I might understand this all wrong, but as of now it seems to me the Democrats don't have much to offer as a counter.

Asking 20 times whether Biden was president at different dates and rambling on about Trump is not quite convincing.

The gop is making "obvious" connection without proof.  The democrats are trying to make it about Trump.  Nothing new.

But after listening to Timmons I wish the questioners were under oath also.

So what we'll have at the end is there were people in agreement and then someone made the plea deal.  Probably because it was a Biden.

So Hunter doesn't get charged with a felony...which I'm not sure saved his reputation...lol.

But he still repaid and plead guilty.  

If anything come out of this I hope it is that people with connections don't get breaks when they are found guilty...but we all know that's not going to happen.

[hollodero]

(07-19-2023, 04:05 PM)GMDino Wrote: The gop is making "obvious" connection without proof.  The democrats are trying to make it about Trump.  Nothing new.

I still would have expected the democratic members to come up with anything of substance to counter the claims made. That there's only whataboutism, misrepresentation and suggestive questions comes as a surprise.

But sure, it was what it was, a Biden gets leniency as influential people do. But that issue in particular, to me, so far is not a good look for the democratic party.

[Arturo Bandini]

Congress is actually conducting hearings about a citizen who is not elected for anything ?

I don't get it.

[*pally*]

(07-19-2023, 04:05 PM)GMDino Wrote: The gop is making "obvious" connection without proof.  The democrats are trying to make it about Trump.  Nothing new.

But after listening to Timmons I wish the questioners were under oath also.

So what we'll have at the end is there were people in agreement and then someone made the plea deal.  Probably because it was a Biden.

So Hunter doesn't get charged with a felony...which I'm not sure saved his reputation...lol.

But he still repaid and plead guilty.  

If anything come out of this I hope it is that people with connections don't get breaks when they are found guilty...but we all know that's not going to happen.

There was a lot of "they should have done it MY way"  if they had they wouldn't be wrong wrong wrong.

[hollodero]

(07-19-2023, 04:35 PM)Arturo Bandini Wrote: Congress is actually conducting hearings about a citizen who is not elected for anything ?

I don't get it.

As far as I can follow, this rather is about alleged undue influence from higher ups to get leniency for Hunter. 

And sure, Hunter's not elected for anything, but if he got what looks like a super sweetheart deal, apparently against recommendations of prosecutors, it will probably turn into a political issue in any country.

[GMDino]

(07-19-2023, 04:33 PM)hollodero Wrote: I still would have expected the democratic members to come up with anything of substance to counter the claims made. That there's only whataboutism, misrepresentation and suggestive questions comes as a surprise.

But sure, it was what it was, a Biden gets leniency as influential people do. But that issue in particular, to me, so far is not a good look for the democratic party.

Well, to me, it doesn't seem there is much to counter.  There was an investigation, it didn't go at the "speed" these two would have liked, and in the end Hunter and his lawyers negotiated a better settlement than these two thought he would get before that.

If there was some testimony or evidence that President Biden stepped in that would be news.  Biden even allowed the investigation to continue after he was elected.

It's possible the higher up though the entire investigation was a political stunt started by Trump and they just wanted done with it.

It's never a good look when someone gets apparent leniency due to their name or wealth.  And I'm sure it will be used as political fodder by the gop who have nothing of substance to offer anyway.  I just don't see this as the big break in the "Biden crime family" that Luvnit thought it would be.  It was whistleblowers who were not happy that Biden didn't get felony charges.  I don't know what else to make of it.

[Arturo Bandini]

(07-19-2023, 04:42 PM)hollodero Wrote: As far as I can follow, this rather is about alleged undue influence from higher ups to get leniency for Hunter. 

And sure, Hunter's not elected for anything, but if he got what looks like a super sweetheart deal, apparently against recommendations of prosecutors, it will probably turn into a political issue in any country.

Maybe he simply read the art of the deal, who knows ?

[hollodero]

(07-19-2023, 04:45 PM)GMDino Wrote: Well, to me, it doesn't seem there is much to counter.  There was an investigation, it didn't go at the "speed" these two would have liked, and in the end Hunter and his lawyers negotiated a better settlement than these two thought he would get before that.

I don't think that is an accurate representation of what is alleged.

For one, there's allegations of tipping off Hunter, of ignoring several unpaid taxes, of depriving the US attourney the authority to go after these possible felonies (after a public asurance of Garland that he had full authority)... all specific claims that would be easy to counter if they were untrue. And sure, they also claimed repeated slowwalking, being denied interviews, and other interventions they thought odd. I don't think it's just about an eventual outcome they did not personally like.

Edit, finally AOC and Mr. Raskin actually addressed one of the matters at hand directly. I would have expected more of that and less Trump talk.

[GMDino]

(07-19-2023, 04:57 PM)hollodero Wrote: I don't think that is an accurate representation of what is alleged.

For one, there's allegations of tipping off Hunter, of ignoring several unpaid taxes, of depriving the US attourney the authority to go after these possible felonies (after a public asurance of Garland that he had full authority)... all specific claims that would be easy to counter if they were untrue. And sure, they also claimed repeated slowwalking, being denied interviews, and other interventions they thought odd. I don't think it's just about an eventual outcome they did not personally like.

Edit, finally AOC and Mr. Raskin actually addressed one of the matters at hand directly. I would have expected more of that and less Trump talk.

Yep, a lot of allegations.  That's why I said it seemed the two whistleblowers had a lot of personal opinions on how they would have done things differently.

A much as I distrust Jim Jordan I was interested in Weiss saying he had full authority...and then he didn't.  

In the end I still think they felt Hunter got better treatment than they think he deserved and so they want to make it known publicly.  Does that change anything?  I don't know.

[NATI BENGALS]

(07-19-2023, 05:14 PM)GMDino Wrote: Yep, a lot of allegations.  That's why I said it seemed the two whistleblowers had a lot of personal opinions on how they would have done things differently.

A much as I distrust Jim Jordan I was interested in Weiss saying he had full authority...and then he didn't.  

In the end I still think they felt Hunter got better treatment than they think he deserved and so they want to make it known publicly.  Does that change anything?  I don't know.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-attorney-david-weiss-asked-special-counsel-status/story?id=101009886

"To clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion, I wish to make one point clear: in this case, I have not requested Special Counsel designation,"

[Luvnit2]

I just got back from whale watching so have yet to see the entire hearing. i did see a couple of hours at the beginning. This hearing is about consistency and blind justice regardless of political affiliation. I thought Raskin's opening statement was way off the mark, and later Shapely told the committee it was not just the I.R.S. leaders, also the F.B.I. and several US attorneys agreed, as did Weiss. Then, after Biden appointed DOJ attorneys and justice department got involved, everything changed. It went from Weiss had full autonomy from Garland to Weiss had full autonomy only in Delaware.

I felt the whistleblowers did such a great job of showing credibility, the Democrats early on spent their time on attacking Trump who had nothing to do with the hearing other than the justice department has thrown the full weight of the F.B.I. and D.O.J. to stretch statutes to charge him with crimes. Ziegler, a gay Democrat was factual and made the Democrats look childish as they cut him off during questioning if told the truth, the truth Democrats in the room did not want to hear. Shapely was factual and made Democrats look bad over and over as he squashed their criticism that prosecutors and I.R.S. agents often disagree. They do, but in this case, I.R.S., F.B.I. and Weiss agreed to indict Hunter Biden in D.C. and California, Three tax felonies in 2014, 2018 and 2019 went away and a plea deal emerged once the Biden appointees took over the case in October 2022.

Why did Weiss tell 6 people in October of 2022 he no longer had full autonomy after he earlier told everyone he had full autonomy to charge anywhere. Garland also under oath stated Weiss has all the powers of a special council. It appears Garland lied to Congress. It appears Weiss lied to the investigative team and also lied in letters to Jordan, Comey and Grasserly.

I will try and watch the entire hearing next week, but I heard the following:
1. The F.B.I. and the Secret Service tipped off Hunter Biden and stopped an interview as agents were waiting to interview not only Hunter Biden, but others.
2. The D.O.J. prevented interviews of Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden's adult children and others limiting the scope and detail of the investigation.
3. An F.B.I. agent confirmed Ziegler and Shapely testimony was accurate. So, 2 I.R.S. and 1 F.B.I. agent all saying the same thing.
4. Hunter Biden has never paid income taxes on income from Burisma of over $400,000 or from $500,000 of income in 2015. I thought Joe Biden wanted to hire 87,000 new I.R.S. agents in next 10 years, but GOP blocked it, so now 30,000 new agents. Just a thought J.B., have tax cheat son volunteer to pay all taxes he has not payed. It is a minimum of $240,000 for years 2014 and 2015.
5. To date, the committee has uncovered over 17 million dollars paid to Hunter Biden, Hunter's adult children and others. What did Hunter Biden do to be paid 17 million dollars? What did his children do to be paid millions of dollars from foreign countries?
6. The Biden D.O.J. intervened and would not let the I.R.S. use the laptop that the F.B.I. verified in 2019 was in fact the Hunter Biden laptop. Why?
7. Whistleblower confirms attorney who donated to Biden's 2020 campaign 'refused to bring charges' against Hunter
US Attorney Matthew Graves donated a combined $1,500 to Biden's campaign in 2020.

"The Justice Department allowed the president's political appointees to weigh in on whether to charge the president's son," Shapley said during the heated House Oversight Committee hearing looking into allegations the Department of Justice politically interfered with an investigation into Hunter Biden.

"After U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves, appointed by President Biden, refused to bring charges in March 2022, I watched U.S. Attorney [David] Weiss tell a room full of senior FBI and IRS senior leaders on October 7, 2022, that he was not the deciding person on whether charges were filed," he added.

In my opinion, this hearing is just the beginning. Keep in mind, Joe Biden said over and over again he never discussed Hunter's business deals.
We now know that was a lie. The committee continues to look for the money. They also continue to look into the "big guy" referenced in HB's emails. The D.O.J. refused to allow any follow up on the big guy (Joe Biden). Why?

The early findings already make the D.O.J., F.B.I. and secret service look corrupt and this is only after committee investigating only 5 months, not 5 years that was spent by Weiss and his team. It is sad Congress who has oversight over both the D.O.J. and F.B.I (Yellen has it over Secret Service) does a more thorough investigation of the money trail. Why? Simple, they are corrupt and were an ally to cover up any wrong doings by anyone in the Biden family. I also found it strange for Rankin (or a Democrat) to try to minimize any I.R.S. tax cheating or fraud cases to the HB tax case. Hunter Biden committed fraud taking tax deductions for things like prostitutes and sex club memberships in addition to not filing tax returns in 2014 and 2015. Biden had an associate (believe attorney) pay over $1 million in back taxes to the I.R.S. I think a better comparison would be people like Wesley Snipes, Darryl Strawberry, JA Rule and many others. All were black and all served prison time and all paid all of their back taxes.

[Luvnit2]

I did just learn an interesting fact. The I.R.S. determined Hunter Biden took a tax deduction for a hotel for Joe Biden. Why would he do that other than he is in business with Joe Biden? Or at the least, one more factual event HB was deliberately reporting fraudulent information to the I.R.S.

I mentioned in last post, this is the early stages of the Comer investigation. I believe next week they will bring in Devon Archer. There is also another HB business associate in prison they are looking to interview. Comer also mentioned today they will have an update to more money flowing to the Biden's. The I.R.S. found 17 million from 2014 to 2019. But, they will limited by the D.O.J. and down right stopped from digging further. The problem for the Biden family is the house oversight committee has the authority to dig to the deepest depths. In time, I am confident this is just the tip of the iceberg of the corruption at the highest levels at the F.B.I, D.O.J. and Secret service.

I think the committee will find a minimum of unreported income of Hunter Biden, his children, Jim Biden and Joe Biden of an additional 50 million dollars that was filtered through shell companies.

It is the Democrats who want more agents to catch tax cheats. Well, what good does it do if they let the biggest who cheat and commit fraud get off with misdemeanors and no jail time. Looking at the biggest cases, I.R.S. has no sympathy for black entertainers.

Anyone also find it sick that Raskin tried to use the death of Beau Biden as an excuse for HB's cocaine addiction. Beau died after battling brain cancer for years, his death was not sudden as Raskin is trying to convey. Also, Hunter Biden has been arrested 2 times for cocaine possession, both times Joe got the charges dropped. Nice try by Raskin, but Hunter's cocaine addiction goes way back prior to his brother's death. He also while married had an affair with Beau's wife Haillee.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hunter-biden-wife-affair-beau-widow-b2092327.html

Please spare us HB is a victim Raskin. He made bad choices and those bad choices have consequences, well or they should.