A federal judge in Washington has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by two IRS agents against Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, finding that Lowell’s statements were constitutionally protected opinions, not actionable falsehoods.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled that agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler “failed to state a claim for defamation,” concluding that Lowell’s comments arose from “a highly charged criminal investigation” and reflected “a legal opinion advanced by defense attorneys to Government officials.”
The agents accused Lowell of defaming them in letters to Congress and others, alleging that he suggested they may have violated grand jury secrecy and taxpayer confidentiality laws while discussing the Hunter Biden tax probe.
Leon said the disputed remarks were not provably false statements of fact. “The challenged statements are constitutionally protected legal opinion,” he wrote, adding that “plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged that Lowell acted with actual malice.”
The judge also rejected the agents’ bid to amend their complaint, calling it “futile.” He said that even if rewritten, their claims would “not cure the fundamental flaw” that the alleged defamatory comments “are constitutionally protected legal opinion.”
“For the foregoing reasons,” Leon concluded, “Lowell’s Motion to Dismiss is granted, and plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint is denied.”
The ruling ends the case unless Shapley and Ziegler appeal.
In June 2023, Newsmax reported on a closed session of the House Ways and Means Committee that led to the release of redacted transcripts of testimony from two IRS employees who had worked on Hunter Biden’s tax case and later raised concerns about alleged misconduct by officials at the IRS and FBI.
Ziegler’s name was redacted in the transcripts released by the committee.
“Today, the Ways and Means Committee voted to make public the testimony of IRS employees blowing the whistle on misconduct at the IRS and the Biden Department of Justice regarding unequal enforcement of tax law.”
The statement from Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., concluded that the events showed “interference, and government abuse in the handling of investigations into criminal activity by President [Joe] Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and retaliation against IRS employees blowing the whistle on this abuse.”
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