Press Release

IRS Whistleblowers Respond to Motion to Dismiss, Accuse Abbe Lowell of Retaliatory Defamation

Washington, D.C. – Late last night, IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joe Ziegler, filed a response opposing a motion to dismiss their defamation lawsuit against Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell, alleging that Lowell’s defamatory statements were made in retaliation for their protected whistleblower disclosures to Congress. The whistleblowers’ action in response

Inspector General Confirms Allegations in Empower Oversight Court Filing

Empower Oversight president Tristan Leavitt made the following comment after the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled “DOJ Obtaining Records of Members of Congress, Congressional Staffers, and Members of the News Media using Compulsory Process.” Empower Oversight’s Chairman and Founder, Jason Foster, was one of the targets of the

Empower Oversight Founder Jason Foster to be Featured on Full Measure this Sunday, Dec. 8

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight’s Chairman and Founder, Jason Foster, will be featured on Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson during her Dec. 8 show regarding the Justice Department secretly collecting his phone and email records when he led the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Oversight and Investigations unit for then-Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA). The surveillance raises serious questions related to

IRS Whistleblowers Statement on Biden Pardon of Son

IRS Whistleblowers Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joe Ziegler made the following statement after President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden. “No amount of lies or spin can hide the simple truth that the Justice Department nearly let the President’s son off the hook for multiple felonies. We did our duty, told

Empower Oversight Presses for Congressional Oversight of Conflicts of Interest at SEC

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight is asking congressional oversight committees for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold the agency accountable for potential conflicts of interest at the agency with respect to its regulation of cryptocurrencies, and obtain an inspector general report that was in its “final stages” nearly one year ago. The letter comes

IRS Whistleblowers Appeal Court Ruling as Empower Oversight Files Lawsuit Over Justice Department Withholding Hunter Biden Communications

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for failing to respond to multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for its communications related to IRS whistleblowers Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Gary Shapley and Special Agent (SA) Joe Ziegler and the protected disclosures they made to Congress. The

Comment from IRS Whistleblowers’ legal team on appeal of ruling denying the request to intervene in Hunter Biden’s lawsuit against the IRS

Attorneys for Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley made the following comment after filing an appeal of a recent ruling denying the whistleblowers’ (Shapley and Special Agent Joe Ziegler) request to intervene in Hunter Biden’s lawsuit against the IRS. The lawsuit against the IRS falsely accuses the IRS whistleblowers of violating tax secrecy laws. “SSA Shapley

Empower Oversight Appeals Decision that Kept Secret DOJ Justification for Spying on Congress

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight is appealing a U.S. District Court decision that kept hidden any factual basis for Justice Department (DOJ) subpoenas for the activity logs of the personal phone and email accounts of members of Congress and attorneys for congressional committees. The attorneys and members of Congress were from both major political parties. “Unfortunately,

SEC FOIA UPDATE: Communications about Empower Oversight’s IG referral

The Securities and Exchange Commission has provided a second partial response to Empower Oversight’s Freedom of Information Act request from May 15, 2023.  The request centered around communications about the oversight organization’s referral of evidence to the Inspector General, pointing to ethical violations and related litigation. Empower Oversight sought records of communications about the group’s May 2022