Hunter Biden sues IRS over disclosure of tax records: NPR

Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, alleges that disclosing his tax records is a violation of IRS rules. Earlier this year, Biden agreed to plead guilty to two minor misdemeanors related to his federal income tax filing.

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Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, alleges that disclosing his tax records is a violation of IRS rules. Earlier this year, Biden agreed to plead guilty to two minor misdemeanors related to his federal income tax filing.

Mark Makela/Getty Images

Hunter Biden sued the IRS over allegations that the federal agency illegally disclosed his confidential tax return information and failed to protect his private records, a new federal lawsuit reveals.

He is demanding, among other things, all documents related to the disclosure of his tax information and $1,000 for each unauthorized disclosure of his personal information.

The complaint alleges that IRS agents “targeted and sought to embarrass Mr. Biden via public statements to the media in which they and their representatives disclosed confidential information about a private citizen’s tax matters.”

The lawsuit does not name these IRS agents, but clearly refers to the revelations of Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler who publicly stated that the US Department of Justice gave preferential treatment to Biden. Both men also took their complaints to a House committee.

Biden’s filing comes days after the president’s son was charged with gun crimes after a plea deal he made with prosecutors collapsed. Earlier this year, Biden agreed to plead guilty to two minor misdemeanors related to his federal income tax filing. Federal authorities also charged him with a gun crime, for which he agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement that allows him to avoid prosecution.

But that deal collapsed in July when the judge overseeing the case demanded that lawyers for both sides clarify that the agreement did not grant the broad immunity offered to Biden from lawsuits over his business dealings and lobbying stranger.

“This lawsuit does not address the legitimacy of the IRS investigation of Mr. Biden over the past five years or any decision to penalize Mr. Biden for any failure to comply with his obligations under the tax laws,” they said. Biden’s lawyers wrote in the complaint.

The lawsuit also does not address the federal whistleblower law or the ability of an “official to properly use these procedures to make disclosures to authorized government officials,” the lawsuit says.

“Rather, the lawsuit is about the decision of IRS employees, their representatives and others to fail to comply with their obligations and to repeatedly and intentionally publicly disclose and disseminate protected tax return information of Mr. Biden outside of the statutory disclosure exceptions,” the complaint states. said.”

Biden’s lawyers filed the suit in federal court in Washington, DC.