Joseph Ziegler is the name of the IRS whistleblower who has remained anonymous until now. The special agent’s identity was revealed for the first time Wednesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing.
The agent appeared before the committee to testify about the alleged Department of Justice (DOJ) and IRS cover-up in the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, the president’s son.
Ziegler identified himself Wednesday as a “gay Democrat married to a man” who is testifying without political motivation.
“I’m no more credible than this man sitting next to me due to my sexual orientation or my political beliefs. The truth is my credibility comes today from my job experience with the IRS and my intimate knowledge of the agency’s standards and procedures,” he said, stressing that, although some people have considered him a traitor to the Democratic Party, his intention is none other than to do the right thing.
Ziegler noted that he is a special agent who has been with the company for 13 years in the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and stated that he worked as a lead agent in the investigation of the president’s son, and it was there that he became aware of the “corrosion of ethical standards and the abuse of power that threaten our nation.”
The agent explained that, although it was not easy to make the decision to report the irregularities in the investigation, it was important for him to do the right thing. “Honestly, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through...but I did the right thing and I’m sitting before you today,” he said.
The testimony
During the hearing, Ziegler insisted that DOJ officials made his job of investigating the Hunter Biden case difficult and confirmed that the Biden family received about $17 million from China, Romania and other foreign countries.
The agent revealed that he could provide Congress with more of Hunter Biden’s WhatsApp messages related to the investigation into the president’s family’s business dealings.
Today IRS whistleblowers provided evidence revealing how the Justice Department treated the Bidens differently. Thank you to the two brave whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, for having tremendous courage in coming forward.
From the hearing, we learned:
- Hunter… pic.twitter.com/3sghNq8b33
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 20, 2023
