Two veteran I.R.S. investigators leveled harsh criticism on Wednesday towards the Justice Department over its dealing with of the tax case towards Hunter Biden, accusing the company of defending him from felony prices due to politics and preferential therapy.

During an hourslong listening to of the House Oversight Committee, the investigators, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, detailed how they believed their work investigating Mr. Biden, the president’s son, was stymied and slow-walked by Justice Department officers throughout each the Trump and Biden presidencies.

“There should not be a two-track justice system based on who you are and who you’re connected to,” stated Mr. Shapley, a particular agent within the I.R.S. legal division for 14 years. “Yet in this case, there was.”

Mr. Biden struck a deal with the Justice Department to plead responsible to 2 misdemeanor tax prices and settle for phrases that may enable him to keep away from prosecution on a separate gun cost, however the investigators stated they’d advisable felony prices towards him.

“As the special agent on this case, I thought the felony charges were well supported,” Mr. Ziegler, the lead I.R.S. case agent on the Hunter Biden investigation informed Congress.

Mr. Ziegler described a litany of Mr. Biden’s tax offenses: falsely claiming enterprise deductions for funds made to the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, a lodge room for his drug vendor, a intercourse membership membership and a Columbia University tuition cost for his grownup daughter.

“I still think that a special counsel is necessary for this investigation,” he added.

Before regaining management of the House this yr, Republicans pledged to make use of their energy to investigate President Biden and his family, launching wide-ranging inquiries. It was clear from their strategy on Wednesday that House Republicans imagine the testimony from the 2 I.R.S. officers is their most impactful proof up to now.

Three committee chairmen — Representatives James R. Comer of Kentucky who heads the Oversight panel; Jim Jordan of Ohio from the Judiciary Committee; and Jason Smith of Missouri from the Ways and Means panel — joined forces to steer the questioning of witnesses in the course of the listening to.

But if the continuing at instances was a sober recounting of details and particulars from a high-profile however secretive investigation, it additionally veered into rank partisanship, hyperbole and — in a spectacle seldom seen in a Capitol Hill listening to room — sexually specific materials.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the right-wing Republican from Georgia, displayed bare photographs of Hunter Biden participating in intercourse acts as she questioned whether or not the proof discovered on his laptop computer that he solicited prostitutes amounted to human trafficking.

“Viewer discretion is advised,” she warned earlier than launching into her presentation.

“Should we be displaying this in the committee?” requested Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the highest Democrat on the panel, after Ms. Greene had held up a number of blown-up images and video screenshots.

Democrats repeatedly expressed disgust on the tenor of the listening to, and the White House condemned it.

“Despite years of obsession and countless wasted taxpayer dollars on a wild goose chase, the @HouseGOP hasn’t offered a single credible piece of evidence of wrongdoing by the President,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesman, wrote on Twitter. “This waste of time reflects the extraordinarily misplaced priorities of House Rs.”

Mr. Shapley accused each Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and David C. Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, of stating falsely that Mr. Weiss had been absolutely empowered to pursue the Hunter Biden — allegations each males have denied.

Mr. Weiss has stated he’s keen to testify when applicable.

Mr. Shapley described feeling stymied with the state of the investigation, and stated his frustration crossed a “red line” when he heard Mr. Weiss say at a gathering that he was not, in truth, absolutely empowered to convey prices wherever he needed within the nation, contradicting Mr. Garland’s public statements.

House Democrats attributed that allegation to a easy misunderstanding, however Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler stated it was extra severe than that.

Mr. Shapley additionally singled out Lesley Wolf, a federal prosecutor in Delaware, for criticism. He stated she blocked a search warrant at President Biden’s residence over issues about “optics,” and stated she halted questioning in regards to the elder Biden.

Ms. Wolf “told investigators they should not ask about President Biden during witness interviews, even when the business communications of his son clearly reference him,” Mr. Shapley testified.

The U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Delaware declined to remark.

Both of the I.R.S. investigators stated they confronted recriminations internally after coming ahead with their whistle-blower disclosures.

“In coming forward, I believe I’m risking my career, my reputation and my case work outside of the investigation we are here to discuss,” stated Mr. Ziegler, who described himself as a Democrat who’s married to a person.

Several Democrats on the committee praised the witnesses and stated they need to be handled with respect. Mr. Raskin argued that Republicans have been throwing every little thing towards the wall in an try to smear President Biden.

They have produced no proof that the president dedicated any crimes, and promoted one potential witness claiming to own proof of corruption by the Biden household — only to learn he was accused of brokering arms deals with China and Iran.

“We can conclude that this Inspector Clouseau-style quest for something that doesn’t exist has turned our committee into a theater of the absurd, an exercise in futility and embarrassment,” Mr. Raskin stated.

Mr. Raskin additionally launched into the report a letter from Lev Parnas, an affiliate of Rudolph W. Giuliani, who served as the private lawyer to former President Donald J. Trump and who was tasked with digging up dust on the Bidens in Ukraine.

“There has never been any factual evidence, only conspiracy theories spread by people who knew exactly what they were doing,” Mr. Parnas wrote to Mr. Comer. “With all due respect, Chairman Comer, the narrative you are seeking for this investigation has been proven false many times over, by a wide array of respected sources. There is simply no merit to investigating this matter any further.”

Glenn Thrush contributed reporting.