Hunter Biden's lawyer claims DOJ only prosecuted after IRS whistleblowers intervened

Hunter Biden’s counsel, Abbe Lowell, asserted that the Justice Department was poised to reach a consensual non-prosecution settlement before two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers intervened. IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler claimed the DOJ had delayed the investigation, prompting Lowell to allege that prosecutors reversed course after the agents’ public statements. Documents obtained via a FOIA request show the government abandoned an initial diversion agreement and demanded a misdemeanor guilty plea, which was later withdrawn in favor of full prosecution.

The whistleblowers sued Lowell for defamation, eventually settling with a statement that their disclosures were lawful. Special counsel David Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland maintain that the case was not compromised. Lowell, formerly of Winston and Strawn and now heading his own firm, did not respond to comment requests.