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Treasury promotes IRS whistleblowers who probed Hunter Biden

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The Treasury Department named a pair of Internal Revenue Service agents as special advisors to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and plans key roles for them in reforming the IRS after they complained of mistreatment under the Biden administration while investigating Hunter Biden’s taxes.

Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who were both special agents with the IRS’s Criminal Investigation division, testified in 2023 before the House Oversight Committee claiming then-President Biden’s son Hunter received preferential treatment during a tax evasion investigation, and they had been removed from the investigation after complaining to their supervisors in 2022. Biden agreed to a plea deal in 2023 on both tax and firearms charges with prosecutors, but the plea deal fell apart when it was questioned by a judge and special counsel David Weiss, who had initially agreed to the deal. Biden was later convicted in 2024 of the firearms charges, which related to lying about his drug use on an application for a handgun, and he again pleaded guilty to not paying at least $1.4 million in taxes. He was pardoned by then-President Biden shortly before leaving office in January. 

The two whistleblowers had accused prosecutors and IRS CI officials of not pushing for felony charges, allowing the statute of limitations to expire on some of the tax charges, and retaliating by removing them from the investigation. Their cause has been championed by Republicans in Congress, including Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa, who sent a letter last month to Bessent commending Shapley and Ziegler’s “bravery, courage, expertise and integrity” and asking Bessent to take action to place Shapley and Ziegler in leadership positions. The promotion is a result of Grassley’s direct request.

“As I noted in my letter to Secretary Bessent last month, if we reinstate whistleblowers who have been retaliated against, it will send a clear signal that pointing out wrongdoing is an honorable thing to do,” Grassley said in a statement Tuesday. “It will help change the culture of our bureaucracy. I’m very grateful to Secretary Bessent for supporting Gary and Joe, and I have no doubt they will be a boon to the Treasury Department in their new roles. Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler put their entire careers on the line to stand up for the truth, and instead of being thanked, the Biden administration treated them like skunks at a picnic. Far too many whistleblowers share a similar experience of retaliation. I hope today is the first of many redemption stories for whistleblowers who’ve been mistreated. By taking a stand for whistleblowers, President Trump and his cabinet are ushering in a new era of transparency and accountability.”

Bessent hailed their promotion to positions of influence in the Trump administration. “I am pleased to welcome Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to the Treasury Department, where they will help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS,” Bessent said in a statement. “These veteran civil servants join us to help further the agency’s focus on collections, modernization, and customer service, so we can deliver a more effective and efficient IRS experience for hardworking American taxpayers. I appreciate Senator Grassley’s efforts in Congress to support whistleblower protections in order to improve transparency, accountability and root out the culture of retaliation.”

Shapley and Ziegler are expected to transition to senior IRS leadership after their stint at the Treasury Department, according to the New York Post. They have reportedly named six IRS officials who they claim retaliated against them and asked for the officials to be disciplined in an official complaint filed with the federal Merit Systems Protection Board. In February, a federal whistleblower protection agency known as the Office of Special Counsel found the IRS had wrongly retaliated against the two men. That same month, Trump fired the head of that agency, Hampton Dellinger, prompting a short-lived court battle before he agreed to drop his appeal of the ouster.

“We are enormously grateful to Secretary Bessent, Senator Grassley, and all of the members of Congress for their leadership and trust,” Shapley and Ziegler said in a joint statement. “We have been motivated by one singular mantra: do what’s right, and do it the right way. It has not been easy, but having a clear conscience is worth the effort. We appreciate the opportunity Secretary Bessent is giving us to put our experience and firsthand knowledge to good use for the American people to eliminate waste and reform the IRS.”

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CrowdStrike says DOJ, SEC sent inquiries on firm accounting

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CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. said U.S. officials have asked for information related to the accounting of deals it’s made with some customers and said the cybersecurity firm is cooperating with the inquiry.

The Austin, Texas-based company said in a filing Wednesday that it has gotten “requests for information” from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission “relating to the company’s recognition of revenue and reporting of ARR for transactions with certain customers.” ARR refers to annual recurring revenue, a measure of earnings from subscriptions.

The company said the federal officials have also sought information related to a CrowdStrike update last year that crashed Windows operating systems around the world.

“The company is cooperating and providing information in response to these requests,” the filing states.

U.S. prosecutors and regulators have been investigating a $32 million deal between CrowdStrike and a technology distributor, Carahsoft Technology Corp., to provide cybersecurity tools to the Internal Revenue Service, Bloomberg News first reported in February. The IRS never purchased or received the products, Bloomberg News earlier reported.

The investigators are probing what senior CrowdStrike executives may have known about the $32 million deal and are examining other transactions made by the cybersecurity firm, Bloomberg News reported in May.

Asked for comment about the filing, CrowdStrike spokesperson Brian Merrill said, “As we have told Bloomberg repeatedly, this is old news and we stand by the accounting of the transaction.” 

A lawyer for Carahsoft previously declined to comment on the federal investigations, and representatives didn’t respond to subsequent requests for comment about them.

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Elon Musk urges Americans take action to ‘kill’ Trump tax cut bill

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Tech titan Elon Musk ratcheted up his offensive against Donald Trump’s signature tax bill on Wednesday, urging that Americans contact their lawmakers to “KILL” the legislation.

“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman,” Musk wrote in a social media post. “Bankrupting America is NOT ok!”

The post came one day after Musk lashed out at the tax bill, describing it as a budget-busting “disgusting abomination” as Republican fiscal hawks stepped up criticism of the massive fiscal package. 

Trump hasn’t publicly responded to Musk’s comments, but the White House put out a statement Wednesday saying the legislation “unleashes an era of unprecedented economic growth.” 

And House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Musk is “dead wrong” about the bill and that the tax cuts will pay for themselves through economic growth.

Musk’s public condemnation pits him against the president at a critical time as Trump is personally lobbying holdouts on the bill. His campaign against the legislation threatens to stiffen resistance and delay enactment of the tax cuts and debt ceiling increase. 

Musk has attacked the legislation days after leaving a temporary assignment leading the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative to cut federal spending. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer’s high-profile role in the Trump administration eroded his business brand and sales of his company’s electric vehicles plunged. 

The House-passed version of the tax and spending bill would add $2.4 trillion to U.S. budget deficits over the next decade, according to an estimate released Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO’s calculation reflects a $3.67 trillion decrease in expected revenues and a $1.25 trillion decline in spending over the decade through 2034, relative to baseline projections. The score doesn’t account for any potential boost to the economy from the bill, which Johnson and Trump argue would offset the revenue losses. 

Musk, the world’s richest man with a net worth of about $377 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has become a crucial financial backer of the Republican party. After making modest donations most years, Musk became the biggest U.S. political donor in 2024, giving more than $290 million.

Johnson said Musk had promised to help reelect Republicans just a day before savaging Trump’s bill. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. 

Most of Musk’s giving was aimed at electing Trump but he also supported congressional candidates. America PAC, the super political action committee that Musk largely funded, spent $18.5 million in 17 separate House races. Though that total pales in comparison to the roughly $255 million he spent backing Trump, the spending means a lot in a congressional election, where challengers on average raise less than $1 million.

Control of the House will likely be decided by the outcome of fewer than two dozen close races in the 2026 midterm elections. The GOP’s chances of holding their majority would suffer a major blow if Musk were to withdraw his financial support.

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M&A Watch: PE fuels deals for CRI, UHY, Prosperity

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Three private equity-backed firms have made deals: Carr, Riggs & Ingram has expanded into East Texas by merging in Axley & Rode; UHY is continuing its expansion in St. Louis by adding Sabino & Co.; and Prosperity Partners moved into Vermont by adding Danaher, Attig & Plante. Meanwhile, Top 100 Firm Sensiba has acquired Australia-based cybersecurity audit and risk assurance firm AssuranceLab.

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