Hunter Biden probe: Media covers whistleblowers using 'scare quotes' to undermine credibility of IRS officials

The Hunter Biden saga has only escalated in the days following his plea deal with his father's administration, particularly as two IRS whistleblowers have been sounding the alarm about alleged misconduct with the Justice Department's handling of the investigation. 

However, members of the legacy media aren't exactly covering the IRS whistleblowers; they're covering IRS "whistleblowers," in scare quotes. 

The New York Times made news on Tuesday when it confirmed a claim made by IRS investigator Gary Shapley, who alleged that U.S. Attorney David Weiss told multiple people the DOJ rejected his requests to bring harsher charges against Hunter Biden in California and Washington, D.C. Instead of labeling him a whistleblower in the article, the Times described him as "testifying under what Republicans say are whistle-blower protections." 

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In a separate report published the same day, Times reporter Peter Baker offered an even more skeptical framing.

"[C]ongressional Republicans have been promoting two I.R.S. ‘whistle-blowers’ who assert that the Justice Department restrained Mr. Weiss, despite his own denial," Baker wrote in a report focused on Democrats being "uncomfortable" by Hunter Biden's recent public appearances. 

IRS whistleblowers alleging DOJ misconduct in its handling of the Hunter Biden probe is fueling speculation that deeper investigating would implicate his father, President Biden. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross thought it was "curious" the Times seemed to use quotations to suggest "they aren't actually whistleblowers," later noting how the paper didn't use "scare quotes" in its coverage of other whistleblowers, including the one whose claims resulted in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment. 

"In today's lesson of blatantly biased media outlets, the New York Times gives the Hunter Biden IRS whistleblowers the quotes-around-the-whistleblower-word treatment to imply skepticism regarding their credibility and/or allegation. Just incredible," Fox News contributor Joe Concha similarly reacted.

Tristan Leavitt, Shapley's attorney, took a swipe at Baker, writing that "it’s irresponsible to keep putting ‘whistleblower’ in quotes to write about Gary Shapley & the other IRS agent. Especially when the @nytimes has confirmed their key allegation of obstruction!"

On Wednesday's installment of "Today," NBC ran a banner that read "Hunter Biden ‘whistleblower’ speaks out" in reaction to CBS News' interview with Shapley, who had provided testimony to Congress about the DOJ interference he said he faced while spearheading the investigation. 

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However, NBC News correspondent Gabe Gutierrez framed the growing scandal is GOP efforts to "shift the spotlight" away from Trump's ongoing legal woes. 

NBC later stripped its use of quotation marks for an on-air graphic about the whistleblower during "NBC Nightly News."

NBC added quotation marks to the word "whistleblower" in its on-air graphic during a report about IRS agent Gary Shapley. (Screenshot/NBC News)

Later in the day, Los Angeles Times senior legal affairs columnist Harry Litman flatly told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell that Shapley is "not" a whistleblower. 

"A whistleblower goes within the agency, follows the procedure, says something wrong has happened. This guy is just a complainer with maybe a political ax to grind or maybe just professional," Litman said. 

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Mitchell then attempted to walk back her own use of the term "whistleblower" for Shapley, pointing to how the GOP-controlled Ways and Means Committee declared him one and how she usually "defers" to the individual's title. Litman responded by knocking Republicans for their "Orwellian run" of their preferred terminology. 

"All I'm saying is a whistleblower means someone who reports malfeasance in the agency, goes all through the process, is rebuffed. This guy, you know, has a political grievance or maybe a professional one, but he's just one guy. He didn't go through any process. There's no corroboration, and it's implausible," Litman told Mitchell. 

MSNBC guest Harry Litman insisted that IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley isn't a whistleblower but rather a "complainer" with a potential "ax to grind." (Screenshot/MSNBC)

Leavitt panned Litman's comments, sharing with Fox News Digital an April letter to Congress written by co-counsel Mark Lytle that outlined Shapley's whistleblowing prior to his outreach to lawmakers.

And as Ross pointed out on Twitter, Litman previously celebrated convicted intel leaker Reality Winner being dubbed "2021 Whistleblower of the Year" by the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team.

"#RealityWinner wins a tough and righteous competition for Whistleblower of the Year," Litman wrote in February 2022. 

Meanwhile, The Washington Post was ahead of the trend, running a story last week with the headline "Who are the House GOP’s ‘whistleblowers’ about Biden and the FBI?" which recapped all the whistleblowers who have come forward to Congress, in addition to the IRS officials. 

The Washington Post appeared to cast doubt on all government officials who have come forward to GOP lawmakers to alleged wrongdoing by the Biden administration.  (Fox News Digital)

"Republicans have pinned the success of congressional investigations — which they hope will paint President Biden and his family as corrupt and the federal government as a political tool of the administration — on the allegations of these 'whistleblowers,'" the Post said. 

The paper continued, "But Democrats, and some lawyers, argue that some of these people appear simply to be disgruntled employees with unsubstantiated claims, and have questioned whether they should be protected by whistleblower status under the law. Calling them 'whistleblowers' has allowed Republicans to share only sparse details about their information, on grounds that the individuals need protection, and that has made their claims hard to vet, said committee staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters."

Fourth Watch media critic Steve Krakauer call the use of scare quotes "instructive."

"When quotation marks are used by the press in circumstances it feels like they aren't warranted, it's usually a red flag that whatever is contained within the quotes is true and the quotes aren't necessary at all," Krakauer told Fox News Digital. "But the quotes provide a bit of a buffer for the audience — a sign to their consumers that you should be distrustful of this phrase or word. Because the corporate media claims they try to be ‘fair’ — but often their hypocrisy is pretty obvious."

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.