The mystery of Whistleblower X was revealed Wednesday as Joseph Ziegler, who has worked with the IRS since 2010 and claims that Hunter Biden received preferential treatment in the investigation into his financial dealings.
At the same time, a pre-recorded interview with Ziegler was released where he said that anytime the IRS tried to look into President Joe Biden they were told ‘we can’t ask those questions.’
Ahead of his appearance, the name plate Mr. Ziegler was placed at the witness table next to unveiled whistleblower and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley’s spot.
In his testimony to the Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Ziegler identifies himself as a ‘gay Democrat married to a man,’ and ensures his coming forward is not politically motivated.
He said he ‘equated the experience’ of becoming a whistleblower to ‘feelings I encountered when coming out.’
‘It was honestly one of the hardest things I ever had to go through, a contemplative scenario, so it would have been highly regrettable,’ he said.
IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler (pictured) showed his face for the first time Wednesday after blowing the whistle on preferential treatment in the Hunter Biden case – and previously only being identified as Whistleblower X
Ziegler (right) joined fellow IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley (left) to present their testimony on how they were prevented from carrying out usual procedure when investigating Hunter Biden
Ziegler works in the international tax and financial crimes division and was the lead agent on the Hunter Biden investigation. He says that he acknowledges he is ‘risking my career’ by coming forward and said that he has been called a ‘traitor to the Democratic Party.’
Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said: ‘I know it was not easy to see their testimony about the DOJ-FBI investigation confirms that there’s nothing normal about the Biden family.’
Comer invited Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., to speak at the top of the hearing and share what his panel learned in their investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax records.
‘The president only believes in making taxpayers pay their fair share if they don’t share his last name,’ Smith claimed. ‘These two courageous whistleblowers provided my committee with devastating testimony showing that the government is not treating all taxpayers equally in the DOJ and the IRS gave preferential treatment to the president’s son.’
The Republican lawmaker insisted: ‘Americans should not have to accept two tiers of judgments – one if your last name is Biden and one for everybody else.’
Ways and Means is tasked with making sure that all taxpayers are treated fairly by the IRS, specifically the wealthy, well-connected and influential U.S. taxpayers.
Smith slammed President Joe Biden and his allies for a ‘vicious smear campaign’ against the two whistleblowers coming forward – even though it’s now known that one of the whistleblowers is a Democrat.
The congressman said it’s a dangerous game to take moves that would discourage other whistleblowers from coming forward in the future to expose federal government wrongdoing.
‘This is a disgrace,’ the Missouri representative said. ‘I urge any IRS employee watching today, if you know of misconduct, talk to the Ways and Means Committee so we can hold accountable those who are responsible.’
Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (left) invited Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (right) to his hearing Wednesday to present what he found in his probe into whether the IRS is treating all Americans fairly
The Two IRS whistleblowers are publicly sharing with the House Oversight panel on Wednesday details about how they were prevented from conducting a fair investigation into Hunter Biden’s shady business accounts.
Ahead of Wednesday, Ziegler was only identified by the panel as a ‘criminal investigator’ and was referred to as ‘Whistleblower X.’
Zielger insists in his opening statement that he just wants American people ‘to know the truth’ about Hunter Biden’s special treatment.
While Shapley has appeared publicly to make his claims against the Bidens already, Ziegler remained anonymous as Whistleblower X until revealing his name and face for the first time on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon.
Oversight Chairman Comer described the findings in thousands of pages of Biden family financial records as ‘astonishing.’
‘What were the Bidens selling? Nothing but influence and access to the Biden network. This is an influence peddling scheme to enrich the Bidens,’ Comer said. ‘We need to know whether Joe Biden is compromised by these schemes and if our national security is threatened.’
Ziegler said he is ‘no more credible than this man sitting next to me due to my sexual orientation or my political beliefs,’ when people started to claim he is more credible because he is a gay Democrat.
‘The American people deserve to know the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may be for either political party or those in power.’
Shapley and Ziegler claims that Hunter, 53, was given special treatment because of his father.
The Oversight probe is looking into whether Hunter Biden received preferential treatment in the investigation into his wrongdoings because of his father’s position. Comer insists: ‘We need to know whether Joe Biden is compromised by these schemes and if our national security is threatened’
One of the whistleblowers testifying is IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley (pictured), the other is only identified as ‘Whistleblower X’ and their identity will be revealed for the first time at the hearing
New revelations this week detail that a lawyer for the FBI told an agent investigating Hunter to dodge questions from the Oversight Committee regarding the First Son.
The agent, whose name was redacted, received the letter from FBI Counsel Jason Jones on Sunday – the day before they were set to testify before the Oversight Committee.
Jones told the agent to tell Oversight to ‘instead refer such questions to the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs.’
‘The Department expects that you will decline to respond to questions seeking non-public information likely covered by one or more components of executive privilege or other significant confidentiality interests, in particular information about deliberations or ongoing investigative activity in law enforcement matters,’ the lawyer added
‘The agent’s testimony is sickening and reveals the lengths to which the DOJ is willing to go to cover up for the Bidens,’ the Oversight Committee tweeted on Monday.
FBI Counsel Jason Jones sent a letter Sunday to an agent – who’s name has been redacted – just hours before they were set to testify before the committee telling them to dodge questions regarding the First Son
Shapley will reiterate in his opening remarks to the Committee on Wednesday his claim that the handling of the probe into Hunter Biden was unusual and sullied with special treatment.
‘I am here to tell you that the Delaware USAO (U.S. Attorneys Office) and Department of Justice handling of the Hunter Biden tax investigation was very different from any other case in my 14 years at IRS,’ Shapley will say.
Additionally, the FBI agent told Republicans running the Oversight Committee’s investigation that Joe Biden’s presidential transition team was tipped off the night before Hunter’s interview with investigators.
‘This was not the original plan by the career agents, which frustrated their investigative efforts because people found out who didn’t need to know,’ the committee stated.
Democrats were quick to dismiss the agent’s claim – and said it’s common for the FBI and DOJ to disagree about how to proceed with an investigation.
The Oversight and Accountability Committee is looking into the handling of probes into President Biden, his son Hunter and the rest of the Biden family.
Republicans have long claimed the Bidens are corrupt and insist that the president was involved, or at least aware, that his son and other family members were using his position for their financial gain and business enrichment.
At the center of GOP probes into the Bidens are the shady foreign business deals of Hunter Biden.
