House GOP demands 'immediate action' on alleged retaliation against IRS whistleblowers

House Republicans are demanding answers about potential retaliation against IRS whistleblowers who brought claims of political influence in the Hunter Biden investigation to Congress.  

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.; Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., began investigating in June whether the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) contributed to alleged retaliation and a "smear campaign" against IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler.

HOUSE GOP PROBES WHETHER SPECIAL COUNSEL OFFICE HELPED RETALIATE AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN WHISTLEBLOWERS

Fox News exclusively reported on that initial letter requesting a briefing to determine whether there had been improper influence surrounding the IRS whistleblowers' claims pending before the OSC. 

But on Friday, Comer, Jordan and Smith sent another letter to the acting principal deputy special counsel, Karen Gorman, demanding answers. 

The lawmakers notified Gorman that Shapley's attorney "recently revealed that approximately one hour after an investigative journalist released an interview with the whistleblowers in which they discussed damaging evidence of the IRS's disparate treatment of U.S. taxpayers, the IRS issued [Supervisory Special Agent] Shapley a 15-day notice to either accept a demotion or resign." 

Shapley and Ziegler sat down with a journalist on Tuesday to "discuss their disclosures to Congress and how their lives have been affected by making those disclosures."