Lawfare and running court battles have become such a fixture in the news in recent years, it's nearly impossible to keep up with them all. One of the odder developments to evolve in the already odd case of First Son Hunter Biden and his legal entanglements is that, in the midst of his prosecution for firearm and tax violations, he had the chutzpah to sue the IRS for...investigating his tax violations.
Hunter Biden Sues the IRS in Despicable Effort to Attack Whistleblowers
Now, Hunter Biden has sued his father's administration, claiming that the IRS agents have "targeted and sought to embarrass " him. The suit particularly attacks IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, the two whistleblowers who came forward to Congress to explain the slow-walking and the problems they saw with the handling of the case. Biden argues that the whistleblowers engaged in a campaign to "publicly smear him."
That followed on the heels of his attorney, Abbe Lowell, sending a letter to House Republicans blasting them for investigating his client. But he also accused the IRS whistleblowers — Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler — of violating federal law in making their disclosures.
Shapley and Ziegler weren't named as defendants in Biden's suit against the IRS, though they have attempted to intervene in the case. (The court has not yet ruled on their intervention motion.)
Now, however, they're going on offense. On Friday, Shapley and Ziegler filed a defamation suit against Lowell in the same court (D.C. District Court) seeking $20 million in damages.
NEW: Defamation suit by IRS Whistleblowers Shapley and Ziegler against Hunter Biden Attorney.
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) September 14, 2024
“…bring this action to vindicate their reputations for the incredible and
malicious harm they have suffered at the hands of Abbe Lowell.”
“As whistleblowers, Shapley and Ziegler acted… pic.twitter.com/H0VUhuL1Sf
🚨 NEW IRS WHISTLEBLOWER DEFAMATION LAWSUIT: Please go to https://t.co/VuJHQBubJp to help Empower hold retaliators accountable for smearing whistleblowers. #FightTheLies pic.twitter.com/9BIFuABJmp
— Empower Oversight (@EMPOWR_us) September 14, 2024
The 11-page Complaint, which names Lowell as the sole defendant, lays out the experience and background of Shapley and Ziegler, as well as the chronology of events surrounding the obstacles encountered in pursuing a legitimate investigation and their decision to make protected whistleblower disclosures. It further points to their vindication in the face of Biden's guilty plea to the tax charges.
Vindication: IRS Whistleblower Gary Shapley's Legal Team
Statement on Hunter Biden Guilty Plea
BREAKING: Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty in LA, Faces Up to 17 Years in Prison
Then, it notes the impact of Lowell's assertions, given his stature and reputation:
14. It is particularly ironic and damaging that a well-known attorney like Lowell—in his words, “one of the country’s foremost white collar defense and trial lawyers” that is “widely viewed as counsel of choice for individuals facing government investigations and potential indictments”—has chosen to falsely accuse these special agents of criminal behavior. Lowell’s stature and credibility in the legal community have amplified the harm caused by his defamatory statements.
15. Lowell’s malicious and false allegations, including accusations that Shapley and Ziegler “committed felonies” and “violated the law,” were published to third parties, including the media, and have severely harmed their professional and personal reputations.
Further, the Complaint lays out the basis for asserting that Lowell's statements were made with malice.
17. On September 14, 2023, Lowell sent a letter to several congressional committees, which included many of the prior communications Biden’s attorneys had sent to government agencies and congressional committees, in which he had falsely accused the Plaintiffs of violating grand jury secrecy rules (Rule 6(e)) and the taxpayer confidentiality statute (26 U.S.C. § 6103).
18. Lest there be any doubt that Lowell had the malicious intent to cause Shapley and Ziegler serious professional and personal reputational harm, he was not content to make his false allegations to investigators and other government officials. In this letter, Lowell also wrote to Congress, “[W]e are also making these materials available to the public.” This was an act designed to harm Shapley and Ziegler by republishing the entire package of previous defamatory falsehoods in a larger forum.
19. That very same day Lowell, acting with clear malice—in retaliation for their protected whistleblowing and for the purpose of causing harm to Shapley and Ziegler’s professional and personal reputations—republished all of his legal team’s prior defamatory communications to the media. Thus, Lowell made each false statement a new and distinct act of defamation.
20. Specifically, Lowell’s September 14, 2024, release to the media republished an April 21, 2023, letter written by Christopher Clark (“Clark”), another Biden attorney, to the Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General’s Office. By that time, Lowell understood the April 21, 2023, letter to falsely accuse one or both Plaintiffs of “leak[ing] information to . . . the press, apparently in violation of federal law, regarding the investigation of our client [Biden]” and Lowell knew readers of his September 14 letter would understand the same thing. (“Defamatory Allegation A”). It is worth noting that years earlier, in December 2020, Biden had already publicly disclosed that he was the subject of a criminal tax investigation.
Defamation suits can be tricky — and costly (hence, the crowdfunding request from Empower Oversight, the firm that has been representing Shapley and Ziegler). As I noted in this article sharing the statement released by Shapley's legal team following Biden's guilty plea:
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.)
I still wouldn't advise Shapley and Ziegler to hold their breath for that apology. But perhaps, if justice prevails, they'll be receiving a nice jury award or settlement for their trouble.
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