image sources, Getty Images
Hunter Biden (right) at a White House event in early April
His lawyer claims that the US special tax agent has information about how to obstruct a criminal investigation into US President Joe Biden’s son due to “political considerations”.
An attorney for the unnamed agent said his client seeks whistleblower protections in Congress to speak out.
He says the officer alleges in the investigation that “preferential treatment and politics unnecessarily influence decisions”.
A White House official denied Biden interfered in the investigation of his son.
Congressional Republicans are investigating whether Hunter Biden improperly used family ties in his business dealings.
Mark Little, an attorney who represents an employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax agency, wrote to a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday.
He said he represented “a special agent for criminal oversight with the IRS who has overseen the ongoing and sensitive investigation into a highly publicized and controversial subject since the beginning of 2020.”
The letter says the employee is prepared to “contradict testimony given by a senior congressional politician,” revealing an “apparent conflict of interest” and “preferential treatment and policy that is unnecessarily prejudicial to resolutions and protocols.”
“My client wants to run for Congress,” Little told CBS News.
“He is prepared to be questioned about what he knows and what he has experienced under appropriate legal protection.”
The attorney added that his client is not authorized to speak publicly about an individual’s tax returns and would need congressional protection to disclose any information.
Biden’s attorney told NBC News that the tax official appears to have “committed a crime.”
“It is a crime for an IRS agent to improperly disclose information about an ongoing tax investigation,” said Attorney Chris Clark.
In October, a US source told reporters that the FBI had gathered enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden with tax offenses dating back to at least 2019.
A federal grand jury in Delaware led by Trump’s chosen attorney general has been reviewing the younger Biden’s taxes and foreign businesses since 2018.
Last month, US Attorney General Merrick Garland told a Senate hearing that he would not interfere with the investigation.
President Biden said he never told his son about his business dealings.
White House spokesman Ian Sams said Thursday that Biden pledged to allow the investigation of his son to proceed “without any political interference from the White House.”
“He endorsed that commitment,” added Mr. Sams.
