House Oversight Chairman James Comer, House Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan on Friday sent a letter to the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) demanding an update on its investigation into alleged retaliation by the Internal Revenue Service against two whistleblowers.
One whistleblower, Gary Shapley, claimed he was given an ultimatum from the agency earlier this month. The three choices were to leave his post as a supervisory special agent in Chicago and accept a job as a senior analyst in Washington, to accept a pay cut and demotion to criminal investigator, or to resign/retire.
The letter comes after the watchdog Empower Oversight notified the Congressional committees of the alleged retaliation, and stated that an OSC investigation into the retaliation has only recently begun, and that Shapley was passed over for two promotions that he was qualified for while waiting for the investigation.