The Utah lawmaker issued a statement Saturday echoing other GOP criticism that the son of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, received special treatment. He cited the testimony of two U.S. Internal Revenue Service employees who vented their “frustration” with the investigation to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Moore, who serves on the Ways and Means committee, alluded to news last week that Hunter Biden would plead guilty to two misdemeanors as a result of the investigation and that he had reached an accord on handling of a gun charge. Many Republicans have criticized the punishment as light.

“Imagine my surprise on Tuesday morning (last week) when news broke that Hunter Biden had been charged and a plea deal was already in the works,” Moore said. “I strongly believe the federal government has given preferential treatment to the current president’s son and I encourage authorities to consider this testimony and any other information that stems from these whistleblowers’ brave actions.”

Moore, a Salt Lake City Republican, represents the 1st District, which includes Weber County and northern Davis County.

The IRS whistleblowers had investigated Biden for tax crimes and had recommended that he face charges “for tax crimes covering an estimated $2.2 million in unreported tax on global income streams” that he and associates in Ukraine, Romania and China purportedly received, Moore said. They further charge that U.S. Department of Justice officials interfered with the probe, according to The Associated Press.

“To state the obvious, these allegations are potentially far more severe than the misdemeanors levied on Hunter Biden earlier this week, and that level of tax evasion has resulted in other Americans serving time in prison or jail,” Moore said in his Saturday statement.

CNN said the probe into the younger Biden had entailed “allegations of money laundering, foreign lobbying and other potential charges.”

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has defended the handling of the Hunter Biden case and rebuffed GOP criticism, according to The Associated Press.