Before whistleblower and IRS agent Gary Shapley went public with allegations that he was being sandbagged in his investigation of Hunter Biden by DOJ officials, he was promptly removed from his position. Now, we know why.
According to testimony made before the House Ways and Means Committee, Shapley was removed after a recommendation from Darrell Waldon, who was the IRS Special Agent in Charge of the criminal inquiry at the time.
IRS Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon told the House Ways and Means Committee in closed-door testimony on Friday that he suggested Shapley’s removal due to a “perceived” bias, according to Fox News.
“So before I left the special agent in charge position, in February, I recommended to [IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf] that Gary Shapley be removed as the [supervisory special agent] from the Hunter Biden investigation, primarily due to what I perceived to be unsubstantiated allegations about motive, intent, bias,” Waldon said.
“And, again, my goal was to protect the integrity of the investigation and figure out a way forward.”
It is concerning that Shapley would be removed for "perceived" bias that even Waldon felt was completely unsubstantiated. Also of note is that the timing of Waldon's recommendation (he left in February of 2023) was well before Shapley was identified publicly, which begs the question of who exactly Waldon and others were worried about when it came to perceptions.
Was the DOJ making noise about Shapley remaining on the case? That seems possible given the allegations that it was the DOJ kneecapping the IRS investigators, refusing to let them interview key witnesses while tipping off the Bidens to possible searches.
“DOJ would communicate what their preference is, and then we would deliberate on that conversation,” he said generally about how decisions are made to reassign IRS investigators.
Waldon responded, “No,” when asked if he thought the investigation was being politicized. although he characterized it as “sensitive.”
Waldon backed Shapley’s claim that he protested that his investigatory duties in the probe were being limited.
That sure sounds like the DOJ was calling the shots, which would bolster Shapley's claims that his investigation was limited. Waldon appeared to confirm those complaints by testifying that he does recall them being lodged at the time.
Whether any of this will bolster Shapley's claim of government retaliation against him is unknown, but it does shed more light on the fact that influence was definitely exerted. Why was the DOJ so intent on not letting a real investigation happen? I think we can speculate on the answer, but certainly, the fact that the Bidens were largely placed off-limits in the midst of a serious investigation was incredibly inappropriate and corrupt. Slapping a "sensitive" label on it doesn't change that.