(NewsNation) — The House Oversight Committee will hear from two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers Wednesday, one of them anonymous and only known as “Whistleblower X.”
The pair allege the president’s son, Hunter Biden received preferential treatment in the handling of the tax and gun charges that were filed against him.
The Justice Department has denied the whistleblowers’ allegations.
Hunter Biden has long been a topic of interest for politicians who have questioned everything from his past substance abuse to his business dealings abroad. Wednesday’s hearing, however, will revolve around a plea deal Hunter Biden accepted earlier this year.
Prosecutors’ court filings that were made public last month laid out a negotiation that required Hunter Biden to plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay income tax. He also would accept pretrial diversion in relation to a separate gun charge.
The whistleblowers have accused investigators of taking their time with their probe, and say the president’s team had advance warning investigators wanted to interview Hunter Biden.
The allegations against Hunter Biden date back several years.
According to court documents, Hunter Biden didn’t pay his 2017 or 2018 income tax, which amounted to more than $100,000 owed each year.
He also was accused of illegally possessing a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018 as someone who was addicted to a controlled substance.
Republican lawmakers and politicians including former President Donald Trump have criticized the plea deal, calling it a “slap on the wrist.”
However, it’s not uncommon for federal cases to end in a plea deal.
About 75% of guilty pleas in the federal system are the result of some negotiation between the parties, according to a 2023 report from the American Bar Association.
Still, half of Americans believe Hunter Biden received special treatment from prosecutors, according to recent Reuters/Ipsos polling. That perception, however, isn’t likely to influence his father’s 2024 presidential bid, survey results showed.