In April, a still-unidentified whistleblower came forward with allegations that congressional Republicans understood to mean that the Hunter Biden investigation was getting preferential treatment from the IRS—and that AG Merrick Garland lied to the House when he assured them that the case was being handled in an even-handed manner. Now, though, the whistleblower’s attorneys say that, not only was the whistleblower removed from the Hunter Biden project, but also that his whole team was removed, too, and that this request came from the Justice Department itself. Digging a little deeper, though, indicates that, for at least a year, any investigation may have been a sham.

The whistleblower’s attorneys, Mark Lytle and Tristan Leavitt, informed Congress of this fact just before the final Durham report was released. The NY Post reported on the letter from Lytle and Leavitt:

“Today the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Supervisory Special Agent we represent was informed that he and his entire investigative team are being removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress. He was informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice,” Mark Lytle and Tristan Leavitt wrote.

[snip]

“Our client has a right to make disclosures to Congress … He is protected by 5 U.S.C. § 2302 from retaliatory personnel actions — including receiving a ‘significant change in duties, responsibilities, or working conditions’ (which this clearly is) because of his disclosures to Congress.

“Any attempt by any government official to prevent a federal employee from furnishing information to Congress is also a direct violation of longstanding appropriations restriction. Furthermore, 18 U.S.C. § 1505 makes it a crime to obstruct an investigation of Congress,” Lytle and Leavitt wrote.

The whistleblower’s team added: “We respectfully request that you give this matter your prompt attention. Removing the experienced investigators who have worked this case for years and are now the subject-matter experts is exactly the sort of issue our client intended to blow the whistle on to begin with.”

As of now, neither the IRS nor the Justice Department have responded to these charges.

Image: Hunter Biden by DonkeyHotey. CC BY 2.0.

On its face, this looks very disturbing, but when you dig deeper, the whole story is even more upsetting for those of us who still believe in the rule of law and government accountability. According to an April 2023 report from NBC, it appears that both the IRS and the FBI (which works for the Justice Department) stopped investigating Hunter more than a year ago:

Federal prosecutors have considered charging Hunter Biden with three tax crimes and a charge related to a gun purchase, said two sources familiar with the matter.

The possible charges are two misdemeanor counts for failure to file taxes, a single felony count of tax evasion related to a business expense for one year of taxes, and the gun charge, also a potential felony.

Two senior law enforcement sources told NBC News about “growing frustration” inside the FBI because investigators finished the bulk of their work on the case about a year ago. A senior law enforcement source said the IRS finished its investigation more than a year ago.

(Hat tip: The Conservative Treehouse.)

If the above is true, it’s unclear why the IRS still had a division investigating Hunter Biden. What we’re left with is speculation:

• The DOJ has decided to charge Hunter, and the IRS was looking for final evidence. Having found it, the IRS division is no longer necessary.
• The DOJ has decided not to charge Hunter and, having gone through the motions for a suitably long time in the Kabuki theater that is Democrat and Deep State “rule of law,” the IRS division is no longer necessary.
• The IRS is just going through the motions but, with the whistleblower having gone public, the IRS and DOJ are pulling the plug. Why? Because, as was the case with the FBI’s 2016 investigation into Hillary’s illegal server and the recent Durham report, this is all Kabuki theater. After all, both Comey and Durham did exactly the same thing: They laid out chapter and verse of gross malfeasance, fraud, and election interference, and then finished by saying, “Never mind.” The message to the Deep State is clear: You are untouchable.

Of the three scenarios that come to mind, I consider the first the least likely.