[House Report 118-335]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Union Calendar No. 274

118th Congress }                                                { Report
 1st Session   }         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES               {  118-335
                                                                
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                 

SUBMISSION TO THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF DOCUMENTS PROTECTED 
                UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 6103

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                      COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             together with

                     MINORITY AND DISSENTING VIEWS




 December 19, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
            
            
            
            
            
                      ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 54-369          WASHINGTON : 2024 
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                  House of Representatives,
                                 Washington, DC, December 19, 2023.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: On December 5, 2023, by a vote of 40 to 
0, the Committee on Ways and Means voted to submit documents 
protected under Internal Revenue Code Section 6103, Minority 
views are included.
            Sincerely,
                                               Jason Smith,
                             Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means.
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                                                 Union Calendar No. 274
                                                 
118th Congress }                                                {  Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session   }                                                { 118-335

======================================================================



 
SUBMISSION TO THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF DOCUMENTS PROTECTED 
                UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 6103

                                _______
                                

 December 19, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

     Mr. Smith of Missouri, from the Committee on Ways and Means, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                     MINORITY AND DISSENTING VIEWS

                                CONTENTS

  I. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND...........................................1
          A. Purpose and Summary.................................     1
          B. Background on The Committee's Jurisdiction and 
              Statutory Authority................................     2
          C. Background on The Committee's Work..................     3
 II. EXPLANATION OF THE SUBMITTED MATERIALS...........................5
          A. Background on the Submitted Materials...............     5
          B. Description of the Submitted Materials..............     6
          C. Description of Committee Redactions.................     6
III. VOTES OF THE COMMITTEE...........................................6
 IV. MINORITY AND DISSENTING VIEWS....................................8
  V. ATTACHMENTS.....................................................14

                       I. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND


                         A. Purpose and Summary

    The Committee on Ways and Means (``Committee'') met in 
closed executive session on December 5, 2023, to consider 
materials protected by 26 U.S.C. Sec. 6103 (``Section 6103''), 
comprised of the following.
    Mr. Joseph Ziegler (``Mr. Ziegler''), an Internal Revenue 
Service (``IRS'') Criminal Investigator, provided an affidavit 
created by Mr. Ziegler, with related exhibits on October 30, 
2023. This production included a document titled ``Affidavit 
6'' and 12 accompanying exhibits.
    This affidavit and the related exhibits included 
performance reviews; emails; Whistleblower guidance; search 
results for email accounts used by Hunter Biden, Eric Schwerin, 
James Biden, and suspected emails of former-President Joe Biden 
based on ``known and identified aliases;'' and a memorandum of 
interview.
    Additionally, immediately prior to the executive session 
markup, Mr. Shapley (Whistleblower 1) and Mr. Ziegler 
(Whistleblower 2) testified before the Committee in an 
executive session hearing. In addition to the documents 
submitted by Mr. Ziegler, the Committee also put forward for 
consideration Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler's written testimony, 
the slides Mr. Ziegler submitted to the Committee that 
accompanied his testimony, and the transcripts of both 
executive sessions.

 B. Background on the Committee's Jurisdiction and Statutory Authority

    The Committee has sole jurisdiction in the United States to 
originate federal tax legislation and has oversight authority 
over tax administration by the IRS and the U.S. Department of 
the Treasury.\1\ Under Section 6103, there is a ``general rule 
that [tax] returns and return information are 
confidential.''\2\ Therefore, ``[r]eturns and return 
information cannot be disclosed unless a specific exception for 
such disclosure is provided for in the Code.''\3\ There are ``a 
number of specific exceptions to the general rule of 
confidentiality'' in Section 6103, including ``authorizations 
to furnish information to Congress, the Department of Justice, 
and certain designees of the taxpayer pursuant to taxpayer 
consent.''\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Article I, Section 7, U.S. Constitution; H. Comm. on Ways and 
Means, About, https://waysandmeans.house.gov/about/.
    \2\Joint Committee on Taxation, Background Regarding the 
Confidentiality and Disclosure of Federal Tax Returns (JCX-3-19) (Feb. 
4, 2019), https://www.jct.gov/getattachment/4c176272-a1d4-468e-ba68-
1c1c51a11d61/x-3-19-5159.pdf.
    \3\Id.
    \4\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Section 6103 also authorizes the Chairmen of the House 
Committee on Ways and Means, the Senate Committee on Finance, 
and the Joint Committee on Taxation to receive returns and 
return information; and the Chairmen of those Committees, along 
with the Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, may 
``designate examiners and agents to inspect returns and return 
information.''\5\ Section 6103 also contains a whistleblower 
provision:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Id.; 26 U.S.C. Sec. 6103(f)(4)(A).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Any person who otherwise has or had access to any 
        return or return information under this section may 
        disclose such return or return information to a 
        committee referred to in paragraph (1) or any 
        individual authorized to receive or inspect information 
        under paragraph (4)(A) if such person believes such 
        return or return information may relate to possible 
        misconduct, maladministration, or taxpayer abuse.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\6 U.S.C. Sec. 6103(f)(5).

    Moreover, any return or return information obtained by or 
on behalf of the Committees ``may be submitted by the committee 
to either the Senate or the House of Representatives, or to 
both. Such submission does not require the Senate or House of 
Representatives to be sitting in closed executive session.''\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\26 U.S.C. Sec. 6103(f)(4)(A); Joint Committee on Taxation, 
Background Regarding the Confidentiality and Disclosure of Federal Tax 
Returns (JCX-3-19) (Feb. 4, 2019), https://www.jct.gov/getattachment/
4c176272-a1d4-468e-ba68-1c1c51a11d61/x-3-19-5159.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                 C. Background on the Committee's Work

    Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Neal, and the Chairs and 
Ranking Members of other House and Senate Committees received a 
letter on April 19, 2023, from counsel for an IRS Criminal 
Supervisory Special Agent, who was later identified as Mr. 
Shapley.\8\ That letter outlined, in very general terms, the 
nature of information Mr. Shapley wished to share with the 
Committee, including information that would:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\Statement from Chairman Smith on IRS Whistleblower Outreach, H. 
Comm. on Ways and Means (Apr. 19, 2023), https://
waysandmeans.house.gov/statement-from-chairman-smith-on-irs-
whistleblower-outreach/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          1. Contradict sworn testimony provided to Congress by 
        a senior political official;
          2. Identify unmitigated conflicts of interest; and
          3. Provide examples of preferential treatment based 
        on political considerations.
    Counsel for Mr. Shapley offered to provide a proffer to the 
Committee to outline the nature of the testimony Mr. Shapley 
could provide.
    On May 5, 2023, Committee staff received that attorney 
proffer, which disclosed that the subject of the investigation 
was R. Hunter Biden. Majority and minority staff were 
designated by Chairman Smith under Section 6103 to receive the 
information; both majority and minority staff were present at 
the attorney proffer and were afforded equal opportunity to ask 
questions. After receiving the proffer, a voluntary interview 
of Mr. Shapley was scheduled for later in May.
    On May 15, 2023, the Committee received a letter from Mr. 
Shapley's legal counsel notifying the Committee that he and his 
entire IRS investigative team had been removed from the ongoing 
and sensitive investigation about which Mr. Shapley sought to 
make a disclosure to Congress.\9\ The letter noted that Mr. 
Shapley was informed that the removal occurred at the request 
of the U.S. Department of Justice (``DOJ'').\10\ Following that 
removal, the Committee learned that another IRS employee had 
retained counsel and had interest in providing additional 
relevant information to the Committee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\Letter from Mark D. Lytle and Tristan Leavitt, to The Hon. Jason 
Smith, Chairman, H. Comm. on Ways and Means, The Hon. Jim Jordan, 
Chairman, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, et al. (May 15, 2023).
    \10\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On May 22, 2023, the Committee received a letter from Mr. 
Shapley's legal counsel alleging that the IRS had taken further 
actions against Mr. Shapley.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\Letter from Tristan Leavitt and Mark D. Lytle to The Hon. Jason 
Smith, Chairman, H. Comm on Ways and Means, et al., (May 22, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On May 24, 2023, the Committee received a letter from an 
IRS Criminal Investigator's legal counsel noting that 
Whistleblower 2, who later identified himself as Mr. Ziegler, 
shared the concerns about the management of the high-profile 
case raised by Mr. Shapley.\12\ The letter also notes that 
despite Mr. Ziegler's good faith efforts to engage in a 
dialogue with supervisors at the IRS about this case and the 
management of the case, to date, this has resulted in no 
constructive engagement.\13\ Rather, IRS management responded 
in a manner that raised significant alarm for Mr. Ziegler of 
possible retaliation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\Letter from Dean Zerbe to The Hon. Jason Smith, Chairman, and 
The Hon. Richard Neal, Ranking Member, H. Comm on Ways and Means, et 
al., (May 22, 2023).
    \13\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On May 26, 2023, and June 1, 2023, Committee staff 
conducted voluntary transcribed interviews of Mr. Shapley and 
Mr. Ziegler. Each interview lasted for approximately seven 
hours. Majority and minority staff had equal opportunity to ask 
questions of the whistleblowers and were able to ask questions 
until none remained.
    On June 22, 2023, the Committee held an executive session 
to consider materials protected by Section 6103, including the 
transcripts of the transcribed interviews of the two 
whistleblowers and two supplemental documents submitted by the 
whistleblowers.\14\ The minority also requested that the 
Committee include and consider a June 7, 2023, letter from IRS 
Commissioner Daniel Werfel to Chairman Smith.\15\ The Committee 
voted to submit those materials to the U.S. House of 
Representatives and thereby make public all five documents. The 
Committee also voted to make a transcript of the closed 
executive session public.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\H. Comm. on Ways and Means, Smith: Testimony of IRS Employees 
Reveals Biden IRS, DOJ Interfered in Tax Investigation of Hunter Biden, 
Revealing Preferential Treatment for Wealthy and Politically Connected 
(June 22, 2023), https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/smith-testimony-of-
irs-employees-reveals-biden-irs-doj-interfered-in-tax-investigation-of-
hunter-biden-revealing-preferential-treatment-for-wealthy-and-
politically-connected/.
    \15\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On June 29, 2023, the Chairmen of the Committee on Ways and 
Means, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on 
Oversight and Accountability sent letters requesting interviews 
with 13 federal government employees--including two IRS 
officials--likely to have information relevant to Mr. Shapley's 
and Mr. Ziegler's allegations.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\Letter from Chairmen Jim Jordan, Jason Smith, and James Comer, 
to Daniel Werfel, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service (June 29, 
2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The DOJ and IRS did not initially make any of those 
individuals available for interviews on a voluntary basis. 
Chairman Smith therefore issued deposition subpoenas to the two 
IRS employees--Michael Batdorf and Darrel Waldon.\17\ After the 
subpoenas were issued, the IRS agreed to make Mr. Batdorf and 
Mr. Waldon available for voluntary transcribed interviews on a 
limited set of topics. Specifically, in advance of their 
interviews with the Committee, Mr. Batdorf and Mr. Waldon were 
directed by the IRS not to answer certain questions relevant to 
the Committee's investigation. During the interviews, IRS 
lawyers intervened on numerous occasions to instruct Mr. 
Batdorf and Mr. Waldon not to answer certain questions.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\H. Comm. on Ways and Means, Ways and Means, Judiciary 
Committees Issue Subpoenas Compelling Witness Testimony on Political 
Interference and Preferential Treatment in Hunter Biden Investigation 
(Aug. 21, 2023), https://waysandmeans.house.gov/ways-and-means-
judiciary-committees-issue-subpoenas-compelling-witness-testimony-on-
political-interference-and-preferential-treatment-in-hunter-biden-
investigation/.
    \18\See e.g., Memorandum for Darrell Waldon, Director, Advanced 
Analytics & Innovation, Criminal Investigation, from Daniel I. Werfel, 
Commissioner, Subject: Testimony Authorization (Sept. 7, 2023); 
Memorandum for Michael Batdorf, Director of Field Operations, Southern 
Area, Criminal Investigation, from Daniel I. Werfel, Commissioner, 
Subject: Testimony Authorization (Sept. 11, 2023); Transcribed 
Interview of Darrell Waldon, Director, Advanced Analytics & Innovation, 
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation at 9 (Sept. 8, 2023); 
Transcribed Interview of Michael Batdorf, Director of Field Operations, 
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation at 8 (Sept. 12, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee has also requested documents and information 
from the DOJ, but very few responsive documents have been 
provided. In addition, the Committee has sought information 
from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 
(``TIGTA''), the DOJ Inspector General (``DOJ OIG''), and the 
Office of Special Counsel (``OSC''), which is an independent 
agency that protects federal employees from prohibited 
personnel practices.
    On July 19, 2023, Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler testified 
before the Oversight and Accountability Committee, where they 
stated that they could not answer certain questions in an open 
setting but would provide the Committee with additional 
information under Section 6103.\19\ After the Oversight and 
Accountability Committee hearing on July 19, 2023, Mr. Shapley 
and Mr. Ziegler began providing additional Section 6103 
materials to the Committee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\H. Comm. on Oversight and Accountability, Hearing with IRS 
Whistleblowers About the Biden Criminal Investigation (July 19, 2023), 
https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/hearing-with-irs-whistleblowers-
about-the-biden-criminal-investigation/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On September 27, 2023, the Committee held an executive 
session to consider materials protected by Section 6103, 
including the following documents:
          1. Committee on Ways and Means Report on Materials 
        Presented to the Committee on Ways and Means Under 26 
        U.S.C. Sec. 6103.
                  a. Appendix A: List of redactions made by 
                Ways and Means majority staff.
                  b. Appendix B: Table of Contents.
          2. Affidavit 1 from Mr. Ziegler which includes 20 
        exhibits for further clarification.
          3. Affidavit 2 from Mr. Ziegler which includes 14 
        exhibits for further clarification.
          4. Affidavit 3 from Mr. Ziegler which includes 23 
        exhibits for further clarification.
          5. Affidavit 4 from Mr. Ziegler which includes 4 
        exhibits for further clarification.
          6. Affidavit 5 from Mr. Ziegler which includes 9 
        exhibits for further clarification.
          7. Supplemental disclosure 1 from Mr. Shapley which 
        includes 9 attachments for further clarification.
          8. Supplemental disclosure 2 from Mr. Shapley which 
        includes 2 attachments for further clarification.
          9. Supplemental disclosure 3 from Mr. Shapley which 
        includes 31 attachments for further clarification.
    The Committee voted to submit those materials to the U.S. 
House of Representatives and thereby make public all five 
documents. The Committee also voted to make a transcript of the 
closed executive session public.

               II. EXPLANATION OF THE SUBMITTED MATERIALS


                A. Background on the Submitted Materials

    On October 30, 2023, Mr. Ziegler provided additional 
Section 6103 materials to the Committee. The production of 
documents was provided by Mr. Ziegler to Committee majority and 
minority staff designated under Section 6103. All materials 
provided in this production were considered by the Committee on 
December 5, 2023.
    Many of the documents provided to the Committee contained 
redactions. Committee majority and minority staff reviewed the 
materials and minority staff had the opportunity to propose 
redactions. The Committee made additional redactions to protect 
the full personal email addresses in two documents. Included in 
Section C to this report is a description of the redactions 
made by the Committee.
    In addition, Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler testified before 
the Committee in executive session. Therefore, the Committee 
also put forward Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler's testimony, and 
the slides Mr. Ziegler submitted to the Committee that 
accompanied his testimony. The Committee also voted to release 
the transcripts of both executive sessions.

               B. Description of the Submitted Materials

    The documents presented during executive session for the 
Committee's consideration included the following:
          1. Affidavit 6 from Mr. Ziegler which includes 12 
        exhibits for further clarification.
          2. Mr. Shapley's testimony for the executive session 
        hearing.
          3. Mr. Ziegler's testimony for the executive session 
        hearing.
          4. Mr. Ziegler's slides that accompanied his 
        testimony for the executive session hearing.
          5. Transcript of the executive session hearing at 
        which Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler testified.
          6. Transcript of the executive session markup where 
        the Committee considered Section 6103 materials.

                 C. Description of Committee Redactions


            REDACTIONS MADE BY WAYS AND MEANS MAJORITY STAFF

Mr. Joseph Ziegler provided documents to the Committee with 
numerous redactions. Committee staff made additional redactions 
of certain personal identifiable information from the 
documents. Any redactions not on the list were already redacted 
in the version of the document provided to the Committee.
    1. Joseph Ziegler Affidavit #6 Exhibit 606--Domain names 
for personal email addresses.
    2. Joseph Ziegler Affidavit #6 Exhibit 608B--Page 2: Email 
address.

                      III. VOTES OF THE COMMITTEE

    Pursuant to clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of the Representatives, the following statements are made 
concerning the vote of the Committee in its consideration of 
materials that were considered by the Committee during the 
Executive Session.
    A motion, offered by Mr. Smith of Nebraska, to make public 
the transcript of the executive session proceedings should the 
Committee vote to submit to the House any information. The 
motion was agreed to by unanimous consent. See Attachment A at 
end of report.
    A motion, pursuant to clause 2(g)(1) of House Rule 11, that 
the Committee proceed to a closed executive session, offered by 
Mr. Schweikert. The motion was agreed to by a roll call vote of 
24 yeas to 17 nays (with quorum being present). The vote was as 
follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Representative             Yea      Nay     Present      Representative      Yea      Nay     Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Smith (MO)...................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Neal...........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Buchanan.....................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Doggett........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Smith (NE)...................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Thompson.......  .......       X   .........
Mr. Kelly........................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Larson.........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Schweikert...................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Blumenauer.....  .......       X   .........
Mr. LaHood.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Pascrell.......  .......       X   .........
Dr. Wenstrup.....................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Davis..........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Arrington....................       X   .......  .........  Ms. Sanchez........  .......       X   .........
Dr. Ferguson.....................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Higgins........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Estes........................       X   .......  .........  Ms. Sewell.........  .......  .......  .........
Mr. Smucker......................       X   .......  .........  Ms. DelBene........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Hern.........................       X   .......  .........  Ms. Chu............  .......       X   .........
Ms. Miller.......................  .......  .......  .........  Ms. Moore..........  .......       X   .........
Dr. Murphy.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Kildee.........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Kustoff......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Beyer..........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Fitzpatrick..................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Evans..........  .......       X   .........
Mr. Steube.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Schneider......  .......       X   .........
Ms. Tenney.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Panetta........  .......       X   .........
Mrs. Fischbach...................       X
Mr. Moore........................       X
Mrs. Steel.......................       X
Ms. Van Duyne....................       X
Mr. Feenstra.....................       X
Ms. Malliotakis..................       X
Mr. Carey........................       X
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Mr. Schweikert's motion to submit to the House of 
Representatives documents protected under Internal Revenue Code 
Section 6103 was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by a roll call vote of 40 yeas to 0 nays (with 
a quorum being present). The vote was as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Representative             Yea      Nay     Present      Representative      Yea      Nay     Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Smith (MO)...................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Neal...........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Buchanan.....................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Doggett........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Smith (NE)...................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Thompson.......       X   .......  .........
Mr. Kelly........................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Larson.........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Schweikert...................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Blumenauer.....  .......  .......  .........
Mr. LaHood.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Pascrell.......       X   .......  .........
Dr. Wenstrup.....................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Davis..........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Arrington....................       X   .......  .........  Ms. Sanchez........       X   .......  .........
Dr. Ferguson.....................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Higgins........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Estes........................       X   .......  .........  Ms. Sewell.........  .......  .......  .........
Mr. Smucker......................       X   .......  .........  Ms. DelBene........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Hern.........................       X   .......  .........  Ms. Chu............       X   .......  .........
Ms. Miller.......................  .......  .......  .........  Ms. Moore..........       X   .......  .........
Dr. Murphy.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Kildee.........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Kustoff......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Beyer..........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Fitzpatrick..................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Evans..........       X   .......  .........
Mr. Steube.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Schneider......       X   .......  .........
Ms. Tenney.......................       X   .......  .........  Mr. Panetta........       X   .......  .........
Mrs. Fischbach...................       X
Mr. Moore........................       X
Mrs. Steel.......................       X
Ms. Van Duyne....................       X
Mr. Feenstra.....................       X
Ms. Malliotakis..................       X
Mr. Carey........................       X
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                           IV. MINORITY VIEWS

    This executive session was another distraction from the 
Majority's inability to govern and fund the government. This 
quarter-baked investigation is based on recycled, debunked 
conspiracy theories. Former Speaker McCarthy announced a fact-
free, baseless impeachment inquiry in September, leaving the 
Majority desperate for evidence of retaliation and political 
interference. Neither the whistleblowers' testimony nor the few 
cherry-picked documents that were submitted to the Committee 
showed any evidence of wrongdoing or political interference by 
President Biden or his Administration, nor any evidence of 
maladministration by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Thus, 
the Minority voted to release the documents so the public could 
see that there is nothing there. Furthermore, at the start of 
the executive session, the Minority made a motion to open the 
closed-door session to the public immediately. The Majority was 
not interested in being transparent and denied the motion. The 
executive session was a partisan exercise for the 
whistleblowers to merely try to rehabilitate their reputations.
    Neither the additional documents nor the witnesses revealed 
any evidence of political interference by President Biden. The 
Majority released to the public 12 additional documents 
provided by one of the whistleblowers, containing no evidence 
of political interference or wrongdoing by President Biden. Not 
one document directly or indirectly implicated President Biden 
of political interference. Furthermore, some of these documents 
were from years during the Trump Administration, while 
President Biden was a private citizen.
    Many of the documents submitted to the Committee already 
were available to the public or not related to the case. One 
whistleblower submitted 12 exhibits to the Committee, including 
two performance reviews (Exhibits 600A and 600B). One of the 
reviews (Exhibit 600B) was signed by the other whistleblower 
around the time he came to Congress. Exhibit 603 was an e-mail 
from IRS Commissioner Werfel sent to all IRS employees and 
published in Tax Notes, therefore already in the public domain. 
Exhibit 602 is essentially the same as an e-mail (Attachment 9) 
the Committee previously released on September 27, 2023. 
Similarly, Exhibit 605 is identical to a document (Attachment 
18) the Committee released on September 27, 2023. Finally, a 
spreadsheet (Exhibit 606) contains a summary of email accounts, 
some of which are publicly available on the National Archives 
website.
    The Majority repeated the mischaracterizations of the House 
Oversight Committee with respect to certain bank deposits as 
``evidence'' for their case. The House Oversight Committee 
inaccurately characterized certain bank deposits allegedly 
related to the inquiry as monthly deposits from foreign 
companies. However, the Washington Post reported that three 
monthly deposits of $1,380 constituted repayments for a truck 
loan. The whistleblowers did not provide any exhibits related 
to these deposits for the Committee's consideration.
    The whistleblowers' continuous inspection and review of the 
case files after their removal from the investigation raises 
concerns about unauthorized access under Section 6103. Section 
6103 provides that tax returns and return information 
(collectively, ``federal tax information'') shall be 
confidential. Unless authorized, no employee of the United 
States, including an IRS employee, shall inspect or disclose 
any returns or return information. The term ``return 
information'' includes any data received by, recorded by, 
prepared by, furnished to, or collected by the IRS with respect 
to a return or with respect to the determination of the 
existence, or possible existence, of liability (or the amount 
thereof) of any person of any tax. This includes case files 
related to taxpayer audits and investigations and the contents 
therein.
    Although certain provisions authorize inspection and 
provide for disclosure, no blanket provision authorizes IRS 
employees to inspect or access and disclose files related to 
their prior cases indefinitely. Thus, to avoid violating 
Section 6103, IRS employees must have authorization to review 
federal tax information at the time it is accessed, and they 
must be authorized to disclose that properly-accessed 
information. In general, IRS and Treasury Department employees 
are authorized to inspect federal tax information (including 
case files) if they satisfy the requirements of Section 
6103(h)(1) at the time of review. This section provides that 
tax returns and return information shall, without written 
request, be open to inspection by or disclosure to IRS 
employees whose ``official duties''' require such inspection or 
disclosure for tax administration purposes.
    With respect to the two whistleblowers, the case at issue 
is no longer part of their ``official duties.'' During the 
transcribed interviews, the whistleblowers stated that they 
were officially removed from the case on May 15, 2023. Thus, 
any inspection or review of the case files they conducted after 
May, and any ongoing inspection by them to extract documents 
and records, does not appear to satisfy the requirements of 
Section 6103(h)(1).
    The whistleblowers' production of additional documents 
after their official removal from the case raises concerns 
about unauthorized disclosure under Section 6103. The exception 
for disclosures pursuant to Section 6103(f)(5) appears to 
protect whistleblowers only when they are authorized to access 
the federal tax information at the time it is obtained. Section 
6103(f)(5) provides that any person who otherwise has or had 
``access to any return information under this section'' may 
disclose such return or return information to the Committee if 
``such person'' believes such return or return information may 
relate to possible misconduct, maladministration, or taxpayer 
abuse. This section provides an exception for disclosure of--
and not access to--returns and return information by a 
whistleblower. The whistleblowers did not disclose documents 
from the case files to the Committee until May 25, 2023, and 
thereafter.
    It does not appear that Section 6103(f)(5) requirements 
were satisfied for documents accessed and disclosed after May. 
First, as stated above, the requirements of Section 6103(h)(1) 
do not appear to be met, as the whistleblowers were no longer 
assigned to the case and further inspection seems to fall 
outside of their official duties. Second, without authorized 
access, the exception for disclosure of properly accessed 
documents in Section 6103(f)(5) does not appear to apply.
    The Committee is not a law enforcement body. The Majority 
continues to be misguided about the authority of the Committee. 
The United States Supreme Court in the Committee's recent case 
regarding the IRS mandatory audit program stated, ``Congress 
cannot exercise its investigative powers for the purpose of law 
enforcement because the power of law enforcement is vested in 
the executive and judicial branches.'' This Committee is not a 
law enforcement body. It is a legislative body. The Committee 
has no independent power to enforce the tax laws against a 
private citizen and no legislative purpose justifying this 
political fishing expedition.
    This is a stunning abuse of power by the Majority. The 
stunning abuse of the Committee's power in this instance 
demeans the stature of the Committee and reeks of partisanship. 
The Biden Administration has led the U.S. economy through the 
strongest and most successful post-pandemic recovery of any 
peer nation around the world. The jurisdiction of this 
Committee offers the Majority an enormous opportunity to 
improve the lives of the American people and build on our 
nation's economic successes. It is time for this Committee to 
get back to work for the American people and stop its pursuit 
of one private citizen.
            Sincerely,
                                           Richard E. Neal,
                                                    Ranking Member.
   RANKING MEMBER NEAL, WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE SESSION, 
           MORNING HEARING DISSENTING VIEWS, DECEMBER 5, 2023

    The last time the Majority called a meeting behind closed 
doors, Speaker Kevin McCarthy was still leading their 
conference, their first impeachment inquiry hearing was on the 
horizon, and we were staring down another Republican government 
shutdown. And in the 10 months since they began their fishing 
expedition, they still had no evidence of wrongdoing or 
political interference by the President or his Administration.
    The same rings true today--nothing is new here and nothing 
ties to the President.
    Since then, we are staring down another Republican 
government shutdown right at the beginning of the tax filing 
season. My colleagues may have an obsession with one particular 
taxpayer, but Ways and Means Democrats are concerned with the 
ease and experience of all taxpayers--that's governing.
    House Republicans also wasted weeks of legislative days in 
search of a new leader, their first hearing flopped, and they 
are no closer to convincing anyone, including themselves, that 
this isn't a partisan stunt.
    Their own witnesses conceded there isn't evidence to 
warrant moving forward.
    The new Speaker said the quiet part out loud, saying last 
month, there is a ``political imperative'' to push ahead. What 
about the facts? What about the evidence? Well, he also 
conceded that ``there is insufficient evidence.''
    So, since our last Executive Session, House Republicans 
took more Speaker votes, landed a new Speaker who has 
flipflopped on the legitimacy of their inquiry, launched a 
website, and ultimately, remain no closer to evidence of 
wrongdoing or political interference. The American people 
question why they are even wasting their time on this! In fact, 
Americans believe House Republicans have prioritized the wrong 
things this Congress--by a 48-point margin.
    The plot has been lost, and today is a last-ditch attempt 
to reignite this process ahead of the election year.
    It's nakedly partisan, and as I've said many times, it's 
not the work of the American people.
    I want to be clear--my disgust with this process lies 
solely with House Republicans, who investigate like they 
legislate. Backwards and without regard for reality.
    If they cared so much about the transparency and oversight 
of the president's tax returns, they could have supported my 
Presidential Tax Filings and Audit Transparency Act of 2022 
that passed the House at the end of last Congress. Or, even 
better, they could bring it back up this Congress.
    If they had faith in their investigation, they wouldn't 
deny their key subject the opportunity to testify before the 
American people.
    But this exercise all boils down to a needless distraction, 
meant to kick up doubt and trade on recycled, debunked 
conspiracy theories.
    Repeating lies will never make them facts. And today, we 
aren't being presented with anything new.
    The American people want you all to govern. They want you 
to legislate. They want the Child Tax Credit extended and to 
build on our work to bring down costs and give them more 
breathing room.
    Instead, House Republicans would rather wear the ``least 
productive Congress since the Great Depression'' as a badge of 
honor and continue down this path without any evidence of 
wrongdoing.
    With that, I yield the balance of my time.
                                                   Richard E. Neal.
   RANKING MEMBER NEAL, WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE SESSION, 
          AFTERNOON MARKUP DISSENTING VIEWS, DECEMBER 5, 2023

    After 11 months, the Majority continues to mistake 
Congress--a legislative body--for law enforcement.
    Last year the courts were clear that, ``Congress cannot 
exercise its investigative powers for the purpose of law 
enforcement because the power of law enforcement is vested in 
the executive and judicial branches.''
    With this Committee still not a law enforcement body, and 
lacking any independent power to enforce the tax laws against a 
private citizen, where is the legislation? They've certainly 
had the time to put something together.
    For that matter, why is the Majority still relying on these 
whistleblowers to transmit information, why not make their own 
requests using the power of this Committee?
    They lack a legitimate legislative purpose because this 
exercise has no broader significance. It's merely to embarrass 
the President.
    The only thing the American people will learn today is how 
low their Republican elected officials are willing to go.
    These documents don't show anything new, but they might 
kick up one dust particle that fits the cherry-picked, 
political narrative, and for my colleagues, that seems to be 
enough.
    It's weaponization of this Committee, and it is not the 
work of the people.
                                                   Richard E. Neal.
                             V. ATTACHMENTS


A. Committee on Ways and Means Executive Session Markup Transcript, 
        December 5, 2023

B. Committee on Ways and Means Executive Session Hearing Transcript, 
        December 5, 2023

          i. Testimony of Gary Shapley
          ii. Testimony of Joseph Ziegler and Accompanying 
        Slides

C. Joseph Ziegler's Affidavit 6

D. Exhibit 600A: Joseph Ziegler's Performance Review for Fiscal Year 
        2022.

E. Exhibit 600B: Joseph Ziegler's Performance Review for Fiscal Year 
        2023.

F. Exhibit 601: May 24--September 1, 2023, Emails Between Joseph 
        Ziegler, Gary Shapley, Lola Watson, Christine Puglisi, and 
        other IRS Employees, Subject: Case Transfer Meeting.

G. Exhibit 602: January 25-May 31, 2023, Emails Between Gary Shapley, 
        Joseph Ziegler, and Michael Batdorf, Subject: For Review/
        Approval: Administrative Leave Request for Protected 
        Whistleblower Activities--Shapley.

H. Exhibit 603: July 7, 2023, Email from IRS Commissioner Werfel, 
        Subject: Updated Whistleblower Guidance.

I. Exhibit 604: December 7, 2022-January 9, 2023, Emails Between Joseph 
        Ziegler, Mark Daly, Darrell Waldon, Christine Puglisi, Lola 
        Watson, and Gary Shapley, Subject: [EXTERNAL] Tomorrow's 
        Meeting.

J. Exhibit 605: May 13, 2022, Emails Between Gary Shapley, Michael 
        Batdorf, Christine Puglisi, and Darrell Waldon, Subject: 
        Sportsman--3rd DOJ Tax--Taxpayer Conference Delayed.

K. Exhibit 606: D-Order Email Search Terms.

L. Exhibit 607: Memorandum of Interview of Troy Schmidt.

M. Exhibit 607A: February 7, 2020, Emails Between Kevin Morris, Tory 
        Schmidt, Lindsay Wineberg, George Mesires, Shep Hoffman, and 
        Hunter B, Subject: Return.

N. Exhibit 608A: October 10, 2017, Email Between Mervyn Yan, Jim Biden, 
        Sara Biden, and Gongwen Dong, Subject: Retainer.

O. Exhibit 608B: Email Attachment to Exhibit 608A, Attorney Engagement 
        Letter.