On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, ABC’s World News Tonight and Good Morning America kept their viewers in the dark on behalf of the Biden administration and Biden family as the IRS agent alleging misconduct in the years-long Hunter Biden investigation has revealed himself for TV interviews on CBS and the Fox News Channel.
Though none of the networks have mentioned the interview IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley gave to FNC’s Special Report host Bret Baier, CBS has spent a surprisingly strong seven minutes and five seconds on their sit-down with him while NBC’s Today had one minute and four seconds on Wednesday.
NBC, however, explicitly scoffed at Shapley’s claims, putting whistleblower in quotes for its chyron.
After including it in the opening teases, CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell announced the exclusive: “A lead investigator in the Hunter Biden investigation tells CBS’s Jim Axelrod that he felt this President’s son received preferential treatment, and in a stunning claim, says that he was blocked from pursuing leads that could have led to the President himself.”
Axelrod’s piece began with a Shapley soundbite that struck at the heart of Americans who see the country as having a two-tiered justice system: “If this was any other person, they likely would have already served their sentence.”
“Gary Shapley was a lead IRS supervisory agent in Operation Sportsman — the investigation in Hunter Biden,” Axelrod began. “Shapley said he uncovered conduct that warranted more serious charges.”
Shapley detailed how the feds found “personal expenses that were taken as business expenses. Prostitutes, sex club memberships, hotel rooms for purported members” and that, “from 2014 to 2019,” Hunter owed $2.2 million in taxes.
Axelrod continued on with Shapley’s claims of interference (click “expand”):
AXELROD: And Shapley told lawmakers that U.S. Attorney Weiss was blocked from bringing stronger charges. But U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said last week that Weiss was not.
GARLAND [on 06/23/23]: I’d say he was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own.
SHAPLEY: I documented exactly what happened and it doesn’t seem to match what the attorney general or the U.S. Attorney are saying today.
AXELROD: Shapley provided lawmakers this contemporaneous email he wrote after an October meeting last year. Shapley says Weiss told him the opposite, that Weiss is not the deciding person on whether charges are filed.
SHAPLEY: It was just shocking to me.
AXELROD: Shapley, who was still working for the IRS, told us that even before President Biden took office, he was directed to avoid leads involving Hunter’s father.
The on-screen interview ended with Shapley explaining “[t]here were certain investigative steps we were not allowed to take that could have led us to President Biden.” And when asked by Axelrod whether he wanted to go farther, Shapley replied, “We needed to take them.”
Axelrod wrapped by claiming such alleged interference began when “Donald Trump was still President and his, Attorney General William Barr, had rules in place that may have limited what Shapley could pursue.”
Fast-forward to Wednesday’s CBS Mornings and it was the second story covered after the numerous weather events snarling summer travel. Co-host Tony Dokoupil used that as a springboard: “Speaking of doesn’t sound great, we’re turning to the Hunter Biden investigation and an IRS agent’s first TV interview since speaking to lawmakers as a whistleblower last month.”
“This is a lead investigator, exclusively telling CBS News he felt the President’s son received preferential treatment and that he was blocked from pursuing investigative leads that could have led to the President himself,” he added before handing off to Axelrod.
After a near-identical report from Tuesday night, Axelrod conversed with the table of co-hosts (click “expand”):
DOKOUPIL: And the question is the scale of these mistakes and also the no comment from the attorney general’s office in Delaware. That’s what we need to clear up.
AXELROD: Right. So, Hunter Biden’s camp points to Weiss and says, look, this is a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, and he’s saying he had ultimate authority, and this is what justice looks like to him — these charges. Now, he’s saying he had full authority. Shapley told us yesterday, and this is critical, that on October 7th, 2022, David Weiss looked him and a bunch of others in the eyes and said there’s things I can’t do, there’s limits, there’s roadblocks. So, which is it? The only guy who’s not talking? David Weiss.
GAYLE KING: Mmhmm.
DOKOUPIL: So far, anyway.
KING: Yeah. What does that say to you, Jim, that he’s not talking?
AXELROD: Well, U.S. Attorneys, of course, are going to be very cautious about any — and, remember, this hasn’t been signed off by a judge yet. So, we probably won’t hear at least for a couple of weeks —
KING: Alright.
AXELROD: — because there’s no upside for the U.S. Attorney to comment.
DOKOUPIL: There will be some choppy waters between now and when that judge signs off or doesn’t.
AXELROD: Exactly.
DOKOUPIL: Yeah.
Over on NBC’s Today, correspondent Gabe Gutierrez framed it as the issue Republicans want to talk about and “shift the spotlight to” instead of Donald Trump’s documents indictment.
Citing “a whistle-blower” as having “com[e] forward saying the allegation was hindered,” Gutierrez ran two soundbites from Shapley citing the double standard between the Bidens and ordinary Americans.
He also said, “Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to face a grilling from House Republicans over the matter in upcoming testimony a couple months away.”
That said, Gutierrez tried to poke holes in Shapley’s concerns: “However, some legal experts have said the tax charges Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to are rarely brought against first-time offenders.”
Instead of keeping viewers up to speed on Hunter Biden, Tuesday’s World News Tonight highlighted a UPS driver helping to keep a woman’s secret when a package meant for her fiancé accidentally went to their house.
And, on Wednesday’s Good Morning America, ABC spent seven minutes and 55 seconds on correspondent Gio Benitez visiting Boston for the show’s latest installment of their breakfast cooking competition, the United States of Breakfast.
To see the relevant transcripts from June 27 and 28, click here (for the CBS Evening News), here (for CBS Mornings), and here (for NBC’s Today).
