Gary Shapley didn't have to stick his neck out...but he did. Even though that meant going up against powerful forces in an administration run by the father of the very subject of his investigation. We first heard of Shapley, an IRS supervisory special agent, in May of 2023, when he came forward and shared his concerns over "irregularities" in the Hunter Biden investigation with CBS News. 

Shapley's disclosures, of course, were not welcomed by the Biden administration and received some heavy pushback, including from Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as Hunter Biden's legal team and congressional Democrats, who virtually did everything but spit pea soup at Shapley and Special Agent Joseph Ziegler when they testified before the House Oversight Committee in July of 2023. All of that came after Shapley and his entire team were removed from the investigation in retaliation for his protected whistleblower disclosures. 

WATCH: IRS Whistleblower Goes Public, Witnessed 'Irregularities' in Case, Contradicts Garland Testimony

AG Garland Basically Calls IRS Whistleblower a Liar, Says Criticism Is 'An Attack on an Institution That's Essential to American Democracy'

NEW: IRS Whistleblower's Lawyers Call Biden Attorneys' Bluff, Challenge WaPo to Repudiate Leak Claims

Key Takeaways and Memorable Moments From the IRS Whistleblower Hearing

And let's not forget, Hunter Biden turned around and sued the IRS in September of 2023, attacking Shapley and Ziegler and accusing them of engaging in a campaign to "publicly smear him." That suit remains pending, by the way. 

Through it all, Shapley steadfastly maintained he had followed proper procedures, while those above him and at Biden's DOJ appeared to be running cover for the First Son — and, indirectly, for the president himself. 

So, when Hunter Biden opted to plead guilty Thursday to all of the charges levied against him in the California tax case (charges which likely would never been brought had Shapley and Ziegler not stepped forward), there was an understandable sense of vindication on the part of Shapley and his legal team. 

Following the entry of Biden's plea, the team released a formal statement:

🚨 Statement from SSA Gary Shapley's legal team on today's Hunter Biden guilty plea pic.twitter.com/Cjg8Fl0mtZ

— Tristan Leavitt (@tristanleavitt) September 5, 2024

Today Hunter Biden pled guilty to nine criminal tax charges, including three felonies, but on May 15, 2023, one of David Weiss’s prosecutors offered Hunter Biden a deferred prosecution agreement that didn’t require even a single guilty plea. That was the same day the IRS retaliated against SSA Gary Shapley by removing his entire team from the case in reprisal for protected whistleblowing about exactly that kind of special treatment. Shapley risked his career for the principle of equal treatment under the law, and now that principle has been vindicated.

Indeed. The country owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler. 

And Hunter Biden and his legal team, as well as Merrick Garland and the congressional Democrats who pilloried them, owe them a sincere apology. (I wouldn't advise they hold their breath waiting on one, though.)