(WASHINGTON) — The Treasury Department has promoted two IRS whistleblowers who accused the Justice Department under President Joe Biden of granting his son, Hunter Biden, special treatment during a yearslong probe into his tax affairs.
Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, two veteran IRS investigators, will serve as senior advisors to incoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said in a statement on Tuesday that he was “pleased to welcome Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler to the Treasury Department, where they will help us drive much-needed cultural reform within the IRS.”
Shapley and Ziegler came forward in 2023 with allegations that the Biden administration improperly interfered in an investigation into Hunter Biden’s unpaid taxes led by then-U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss — claims that Justice Department and FBI officials fiercely disputed at the time.
“It appeared to me, based on what I experienced, that the U.S. Attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited and marginalized by DOJ officials,” Ziegler said during congressional testimony in July 2023.
Days after Shapley and Ziegler testified on Capitol Hill, a plea deal negotiated by Hunter Biden and the Justice Department fell apart under questioning from a federal judge. The deal would have allowed Hunter Biden to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and enter into a pretrial diversion agreement on a felony gun charge.
Weiss, the Trump-appointed prosecutor who led the probe into Hunter Biden, repeatedly refuted the claims leveled by Shapley and Ziegler and asserted that he faced no political pressure from Biden administration officials to grant Hunter Biden any special treatment.
Hunter Biden later pleaded guilty to nine tax-related charges, including multiple felonies. His father granted him a sweeping pardon in the waning weeks of his presidency.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, touted his role in securing promotions for Shapley and Ziegler in a statement Tuesday. Grassley said he wrote Bessent multiple letters encouraging him to promote the two whistleblowers.
“Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler put their entire careers on the line to stand up for the truth, and instead of being thanked, the Biden administration treated them like skunks at a picnic,” Grassley wrote in a press release. “I hope today is the first of many redemption stories for whistleblowers who’ve been mistreated.”
(NEW YORK) — Planning to travel by air in the U.S. later this year? A regular driver’s license may not cut it.
Travelers flying through U.S. airports will soon need to show TSA agents a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, a passport or another form of REAL ID-compliant identification if they want to pass through the security screening.
In an announcement this week, the TSA said it’s sticking with a May 7, 2025, deadline to start enforcing REAL ID requirements. However, officials also said they’re planning for a two-year “phased enforcement” that could allow travelers who don’t have REAL IDs to board flights — with a warning notice.
REAL ID is an effort by the federal government to make driver’s licenses and ID cards more reliable, accurate and standardized. Depending on which state your license or ID is from, REAL IDs will have a gold or black star (or a star in a bear, in the case of California) in the upper portion of the card.
The REAL ID requirement was supposed to go into effect years ago, but was delayed — in part due to state motor vehicle departments working through COVID-19 backlogs.
Federal officials are concerned about how many Americans still don’t have a REAL ID. In January 2024, only about 56% of driver’s licenses and IDs in circulation across the country comply with REAL ID. The Department of Homeland Security estimated that only 61.2% of driver’s licenses and IDs will be REAL ID-compliant by the May 7 deadline.
“We have four months ahead of us,” said Stacey Fitzmaurice, TSA’s executive assistant administrator for operations support. “There’s definitely work to be done, so we want travelers to take the time now to get their REAL ID before the deadline.”
What is REAL ID? The REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 after the 9/11 Commission recommended the federal government set security standards for states to issue driver’s licenses and identification cards.
“This came out of a recommendation that looked at the events of 9/11 and the vulnerabilities associated with that,” said Fitzmaurice. “The REAL ID requirement is as important today as it first was coming out of the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, and we are in a much better spot today, given that all of the states have implemented the changes for REAL ID and are implementing the REAL ID licenses today.”
How to get it? You can get a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license from your state’s DMV. You must be able to prove who you are by bringing documentation that includes your full name, date of birth, Social Security number, two proofs of residence and lawful status. Documents with this information could include a birth certificate, Social Security card or passport.
Who needs it? While travelers boarding commercial flights need a REAL ID or an alternative form of approved documentation, children under 18 do not need to have a REAL ID.
For foreign travelers, foreign passports are an acceptable form of identification, according to a TSA spokesperson. The spokesperson said noncitizens who are lawfully admitted for permanent or temporary residence, have conditional permanent residence status, have an approved application for asylum or entered the country as refugees can obtain a REAL ID at their state’s DMV.
REAL ID does not work for international travel. If you’re traveling outside of the country, you’ll still need to bring your passport.
What is the ‘phased enforcement’ of the REAL ID deadline? On Jan. 13, TSA published a final rule sticking with the May 7 deadline but allowing two-year phased enforcement of REAL ID until May 2027.
The agency described the need for a phased deadline.
In the example of TSA, if large numbers of individuals arrive at an airport security checkpoint with noncompliant driver’s licenses or ID cards, they would not be able to proceed through screening, “potentially resulting in missed flights,” the published final rule stated. “Additionally, long lines, confusion, and frustrated travelers at the checkpoint may greatly increase security risks both to passengers and TSA personnel by drawing the resources and attention of TSA personnel away from other passengers, including those known to pose an elevated risk.”
A TSA spokesperson told ABC phased enforcement would “introduce and enable a temporary warning period for those travelers.”
The TSA has not yet unveiled its plan for phased enforcement.
The regulations published this week state that agencies could choose to issue a written or verbal warning if someone attempts to use a non-REAL ID after the deadline.
“We want travelers to be prepared so that they don’t come to the checkpoints in May without a REAL ID-compliant or another acceptable form of ID,” said Fitzmaurice. “If they do — come May — not have their real ID, they could experience delays…We need to verify everyone’s identity who is going through the TSA checkpoints. And for those individuals who don’t bring identification or do not have acceptable forms of identification, we oftentimes will have to do additional requirements before they are able to go through security.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice, under new leadership following the inauguration of Donald Trump, has told legal service providers who receive federal funding to stop providing legal orientation and other work intended to support immigrants at immigration courts.
In a memo obtained by ABC News, the DOJ ordered all such legal providers on Wednesday to “stop work immediately” in those areas.
“This email is to send you notification to stop work immediately pursuant to the Executive Order on the following task orders,” the memo said. The programs listed in the memo include the Legal Orientation Program; the Immigration Court Helpdesk; the Family Group Legal Orientation Program; and the Counsel for Children Initiative.
Legal service providers are usually present at immigration courts across the country to help individuals navigate immigration court proceedings and handle legal paperwork.
“The suspension of these longstanding programs could leave hundreds of thousands of vulnerable immigrants — including children and families — without access to basic legal information and representation,” a spokesperson for Acacia Center for Justice told ABC News in a statement.
The directive from the DOJ comes a day after ABC News reported that four top officials within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review — the DOJ’s office that oversees immigration courts — were removed from their positions.
Experts and advocates told ABC News that, without a lawyer, migrants are left to navigate the different avenues of relief alone, filling out documents in a foreign language and arguing their case before a judge.
As ABC News previously reported, DOJ data from 2023 showed that only 56% of unaccompanied minors in immigration courts were represented by counsel, forcing thousands of unaccompanied young migrants to represent themselves before federal immigration judges.
One of the programs listed in the DOJ memo –The Counsel for Children Initiative — provides legal representation to children in immigration court proceedings.
The total immigration court backlog of children and adults has surged to a record high of 3.5 million cases.
An online content creator has been arrested after “disturbing” videos of her contaminating store products by urinating on them has spawned an investigation and a product recall dating back four years ago. (Facebook / Keene, NH Police Department)
(KEENE, NH) — An online content creator has been charged with criminal mischief for allegedly making “disturbing” videos of her contaminating store products by urinating on them, spawning an investigation and a product recall dating back four years ago.
The investigation began on Feb. 14 when the Keene Police Department in New Hampshire received an anonymous tipoff regarding a woman – later identified as 23-year-old Kelli Tedford – who had “posted disturbing videos to an internet site” of her “contaminating items in a local business with her urine,” according to a statement from the Keene Police Department released on Friday.
Police immediately launched an investigation in cooperation with the local grocery store, the Monadnock Food Co-Op, and the affected items were removed in coordination with the health department, officials said.
Monadnock Food Co-Op subsequently issued a voluntary recall for red quinoa, white quinoa, tri-color quinoa, cornmeal, polenta, coconut shreds and raw walnuts and affirmed that “our community’s health and safety remain our top priorities.”
“While this was a highly unusual situation, we took swift action in accordance with our food safety and recall procedures,” Monadnock Food Co-Op said in their statement released on Friday. “We have also been in direct communication with the Keene Health Department, which has confirmed that no ongoing risks remain. We continue to cooperate fully with the Keene Police Department and the Keene Health Department regarding this matter. We have strict food safety protocols and recall procedures in place. We are reviewing our security measures and procedures to further safeguard our store and customers.”
However, during the police investigation into the incident, authorities found “numerous additional videos” of Tedford committing the same act over a four-year period, said the Keene Police Department.
“At this time, it appears likely that similar historic incidents occurred in Keene and surrounding communities where Tedford contaminated items and/or surfaces with urine, as several videos appear to be recorded as early as 2021,” police said.
As a result of this incident, the Monadnock Food Co-Op sustained an estimated financial loss of more than $1,500 in destroyed merchandise and cleaning costs.
“At this time, it appears likely that similar historic incidents occurred in Keene and surrounding communities where Tedford contaminated items and/or surfaces with urine, as several videos appear to be recorded as early as 2021,” police said.
As a result of this incident, the Monadnock Food Co-Op sustained an estimated financial loss of more than $1,500 in destroyed merchandise and cleaning costs.
Tedford was arrested on Friday by the Keene Police Department and charged with criminal mischief as a class B felony, authorities confirmed. She was subsequently released on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled for arraignment on April 7 at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene.
The investigation is ongoing, and police said that additional criminal charges are possible.
