Hunter Biden sued the U.S. Internal Revenue Service alleging that so-called IRS whistleblowers illegally disclosed information about his taxes.

President Joe Biden’s son, who was indicted last week on firearms charges after a plea agreement with federal prosecutors collapsed, filed the suit Monday in federal court in Washington. Under the deal, he had agreed to plead guilty not only to charges that he purchased a firearm without disclosing that he was unlawfully using drugs, but also to two misdemeanor tax crimes.

The lawsuit refers to an “assault” on his rights involving the public disclosure of his confidential tax information during televised interviews with IRS employees. Republican members of the House of Representatives have disclosed testimony from two IRS agents over allegations of the agency’s misconduct while investigating Hunter Biden.

“The lawsuit is about the decision by IRS employees, their representatives and others to disregard their obligations and repeatedly and intentionally publicly disclose and disseminate Mr. Biden’s protected tax return information outside the exceptions for making disclosures in the law,” according to the complaint.

Hunter Biden will likely face federal tax charges for allegedly failing to pay taxes on $4.4 million in income he made in 2017 and 2018 from a Ukrainian energy company, a Chinese private equity firm, and other sources. It’s those kinds of business activities that House Republicans are putting at the center of an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden and hope to make a major issue in the 2024 presidential election.

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—With assistance from Peter Blumberg and Chris Strohm.

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©2023 Bloomberg News.