meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Was the Hunter Biden Investigation Handled Improperly?

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4.22.8K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2023

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Two IRS investigators have blown the whistle on the probe into Hunter Biden, as questions continue to mount about the deal the President's son received in pleading guilty to two tax misdemeanors. Plus, Attorney General Merrick Garland defends U.S. Attorney David Weiss's actions in the case, and the panel takes a look at the contents of Hunter Biden's tax returns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

WSJ Special Access gives you a front row seat to some of the Wall Street Journal's most exciting content,

0:06.4

including exclusive live events and interviews with top executives and newsmakers,

0:11.2

only for subscribers and only on Spotify.

0:18.8

From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

0:23.6

House Ways & Means Committee releases a testimony of two IRS whistleblowers who claim a

0:30.0

Department of Justice investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes was handled improperly,

0:35.6

riddled with preferential treatment and conflicts of interest. What exactly are these IRS

0:41.1

investigators alleging and just what was Hunter up to with his tax returns?

0:46.7

Welcome to Potomac Watch. I'm Kim Strassel, joined today by my wonderful and knowledgeable colleagues,

0:52.8

Bill McGurne and Kate Batchelder O'Dell. More than four years ago, the U.S. attorney for Delaware,

0:58.4

David Weiss took up an investigation into allegations surrounding the president's son, Hunter Biden,

1:04.4

including problems with his taxes. Early last week, we got the results of that with a plea deal

1:10.2

in which Hunter got simple misdemeanor charges for two years of his taxes, for which he'll likely

1:15.3

avoid any jail time, and a pretrial diversion agreement that will likely allow him to avoid a felony

1:21.4

firearms charge. Yet now, House Republicans have released transcripts of hours worth of

1:26.9

testimony from two IRS agents who worked alongside the FBI and prosecutors on Mr. Weiss' team on that

1:34.0

probe. One, Gary Shapley is a 14-year veteran of the IRS, a senior supervisory agent who leads a

1:40.8

team of agents who specialize in international tax investigations. The second has remained

1:46.8

anonymous, but has also been with the IRS for a number of years and was on the Hunter investigation

1:51.6

from the start. They made some pretty explosive charges that this case was not handled properly

1:57.2

and gave us some new insight into just what was being investigated. So Bill, I think to start us

2:03.3

off, just as a baseline question, I know you've read these transcripts. What do you make of these

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Wall Street Journal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Wall Street Journal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.