CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� An IRS whistleblower who testified publicly about investigations into Hunter Biden鈥檚 taxes is expected to be , two sources familiar with the plan tell The Associated Press.
an IRS employee who testified to Congress as Republicans reviewed the business dealings of , said he was retaliated against for cooperating in the investigations. In March, Shapley was promoted to Deputy Chief of IRS Criminal Investigations, and another IRS investigator who testified about Biden's taxes, Joseph Ziegler, was assigned to the Treasury Secretary鈥檚 office as a senior adviser for IRS reform.
Now, the tax collection agency is planning to name Shapley to one of the highest-ranking roles at the agency 鈥� in an interim role 鈥� as former Missouri congressman Billy Long awaits a confirmation hearing to lead the agency permanently, the people say. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the plan.
President Donald Trump nominated Long, who worked as an auctioneer before serving six terms in the House of Representatives, to serve as the next commissioner of the IRS.
Shapley replaces Melanie Krause, who is as acting IRS commissioner over a deal to share immigrants鈥� tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify and deport people illegally in the U.S. CNN originally reported the news about Shapley's new role.
鈥淕ary is a long-tenured civil servant who has dedicated the last 15 years of his professional life to the IRS,鈥� a Treasury spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. 鈥淕ary has proven his honesty and devotion to enforcing the law without fear or favor, even at great cost to his own career. He鈥檒l be a great asset to the IRS as we rethink and reform this crucial organization.鈥�
Shapley and Joseph Ziegler say they were removed from the Hunter Biden case in December 2022 after they told their bosses that the Justice Department and former Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss had engaged in a pattern of 鈥渟low-walking investigative steps鈥� and delaying enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
The investigation into Hunter Biden ended with Joe Biden , sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.
Hunter Biden had been set to stand trial last September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.
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Fatima Hussein, The Associated Press
