The House Ways and Means Committee has given two attorneys representing the Internal Revenue Service whistleblower the power to examine Hunter Biden’s tax returns and associated data. This move could hasten the unraveling of the Justice Department’s alleged protection of the Biden family, The Federalist reported on Monday.
Margot Cleveland, who filed the report, went on to explain:
Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that federal tax returns and “return information” “shall be confidential” and makes it illegal for an IRS “officer or employee” to disclose such tax information. In fact, many view Sections 6103’s confidentiality mandate as even precluding a government employee from revealing the existence of an investigation into a taxpayer. However, because in December of 2020, Hunter Biden publicly acknowledged the existence of an investigation into his tax matters after federal prosecutors subpoenaed his business records, the public has long known of the investigation into the president’s son.
Several exceptions to the confidentiality provisions of Section 6103 exist, though. Relevant here is the statutory exception authorizing whistleblowers to disclose confidential information to the House Committee on Ways and Means or the Senate Committee on Finance. That exception guarantees whistleblower protection to government agents who reveal confidential information concerning tax issues to either of those committees.
“But because the Section 6103 exception does not also allow a whistleblower the right to disclose the information to his attorney, the whistleblower would be forced to face the committees without the benefit of legal counsel,” she added. “Further, because Section 6103 defines ‘return information’ broadly to include the nature and sources of income, data collected by the IRS, and ‘any background file document’ or ‘written determination’ prepared by the IRS, the whistleblower also could not legally discuss with his attorney many aspects of an investigation to prepare to testify before the congressional committees.”
Mark Lytle, one of the lawyers representing the IRS whistleblower, sent a letter to the chairs and ranking members of several congressional committees, which sheds light on the purpose of granting the attorneys access to Hunter Biden’s tax returns and related information, Cleveland continued.
The letter conveyed Lytle’s client’s offer to share information that shows political interference in the criminal investigation of a “high-profile, controversial subject.” This subject is widely believed to be Hunter Biden, given his confirmation in 2020 of an ongoing federal investigation into his tax affairs, she reported.
Lytle ended his letter by requesting that the committees work with him so his client could share the “information with Congress legally and with the fully informed advice of counsel,” adding: “With the appropriate legal protections and in the appropriate setting, I would be happy to meet with you and provide a more detailed proffer of the testimony my client could provide to Congress.”
Understanding Section 6103 is crucial to fully comprehend the importance of both the language used in the aforementioned letter and the recent development that occurred last week, Cleveland advised:
As explained above, while Section 6103 authorized the whistleblower to share confidential taxpayer information with two specific committees, he or she could not give that information to Lytle or any other attorney. Section 6103(f)(4), however, provides an important workaround by allowing the chairmen of the Ways and Means Committee and Finance Committee to “designate or appoint” an “agent” to inspect the tax returns and return information.
In other words, the committees could appoint the whistleblower’s attorneys as their “agents,” which would allow the whistleblower to discuss freely and fully the tax information with his lawyers. In turn, the whistleblower’s lawyers could brief the committees on those details, albeit in a closed session, which is precisely what Lytle suggested when he wrote that “with the appropriate legal protections and in the appropriate setting,” he would “provide a more detailed proffer of the testimony my client could provide to Congress.”
Therefore, the recent authorization by the Ways and Means Committee for two of the whistleblower’s attorneys to access Hunter Biden’s tax information is a significant development. This move avoids a prolonged legal battle over the whistleblower’s testimony and allows the House committee to promptly investigate the whistleblower’s allegations, Cleveland noted further.
“Given that the Republican-controlled House granted the whistleblower’s lawyers authority to access and discuss the tax returns and tax information, authorization by the Democrat-controlled Senate Finance Committee would not be needed,” she wrote.
Cleveland said it’s likely that some more serious potential tax law violations will have already reached the statute of limitations, leaving Republicans to question whether that was done intentionally to protect Hunter Biden.
But, she added, “The whistleblower’s accusations thus extend far beyond the tax case against Hunter Biden. Although unraveling the scandal will start there, it won’t end there. With the whistleblower’s attorneys now able to coordinate directly with the House Ways and Means Committee, the timeframe for exposing those complicit in covering for the Bidens just shrunk substantially.”
