Hunter Biden sues the IRS, seeking $1,000 in damages
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Hunter biden is suing the Internal Revenue Services (IRS).
The son of President Biden filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., claiming two IRS agents "repeatedly and intentionally" publicly share his private tax return information during their criminal investigation of him.
The two count complaint alleges the irs broke federal law prohibiting the dissemination of personal tax information, and violated the Privacy Act.
According to the lawsuit, the agents, specifically named in the suit as Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler, have targeted and sought to "embarrass Mr. Biden" by disclosing confidential information about his private tax matters to numerous news outlets, including NBC News.
It reads, "The lawsuit is about the decision by IRS employees, their representatives, and others to disregard their obligations and repeatedly and intentionally publicly disclose and disseminate Mr. Biden's protected tax return information outside the exceptions for making disclosures in the law."
Seeking $1,000 in damages
The lawsuit comes days after Biden was indicted on three criminal counts related to his possession of a handgun.
Biden had neared a plea deal with prosecutors on misdemeanor tax charges, as well as a separate pre-trial diversion agreement related to the gun matter.
But the whole arrangement fell apart during a dramatic court hearing in July.
Biden's attorney insisted in Monday's court filing that this suit is not about "the legitimacy of the IRS investigation of Mr. Biden over the past five years, or any decision to penalize Mr. Biden for any failure to comply with his obligations under the tax laws."
The suit is seeking, in part, $1,000 in damages for each improper disclosure of the tax records and for the irs to come up with a plan to enforce federal privacy laws tied to tax information.
