A high-ranking Internal Revenue Service official has disputed claims by a whistleblower whose allegations about political interference into the Hunter Biden tax investigation are central to House Republican impeachment inquiries against President Joe Biden.
In closed-door testimony obtained by CNN, IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf told a House committee last week that it was his decision to remove the whistleblower, Gary Shapley, from the criminal probe into Biden’s son in December 2022. But Shapley wasn’t informed of that decision until May, the same month he brought his claims to Congress.
Batdorf, who testified at the behest of House Republicans, directly contradicts Shapley’s claims that he was removed from the investigation as a direct result of his decision to criticize the way IRS and Department of Justice officials handled the high-profile tax case.
“I just want to go on the record. In my 22.5 years, I have never made a decision or restricted anyone out of spite, out of retaliation, out of anything,” Batdorf stated. “That is not who I am.”
Batdorf testified that he removed Shapley from the Hunter Biden probe due to Shapley’s deteriorating relationship with US Attorney David Weiss, over what Batdorf said were “investigative differences, prosecutorial differences.”
According to Batdorf, by November 2022, Weiss had decided to stop talking to Shapley. “It was David Weiss’ moment of: I’m not talking to him anymore. He’s harassing me,” Batdorf said in describing an email from Weiss.
In his interview, Batdorf complimented Shapley for his work ethic, calling him a “fantastic agent” and “passionate” but also said there had been concerns over Shapley’s behavior for months.
“Gary has a tendency to go to level like grade seven, five-alarm alarm fire on everything” Batdorf…
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