By Mike Scarcella

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Prominent criminal defense lawyer Abbe Lowell fired back late on Monday after two IRS agents sued him for defamation over his actions while defending President Joe Biden’s son Hunter against tax charges.

Lowell asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to throw out the agents’ lawsuit, which accused him of falsely suggesting they illegally disclosed grand jury material and taxpayer information.

He called the agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler “disgruntled,” and he said his statements in letters to Congress defending Hunter Biden were lawful.

Lowell and his lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday, and neither did attorneys for the two agents.

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in September to federal tax charges in federal court in Los Angeles. Prosecutors accused him of failing to pay $14 million in taxes. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16.

Shapley and Ziegler sued Lowell the same month, claiming he falsely accused them of disclosing confidential information derived from their work investigating Hunter Biden. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit said Shapley and Ziegler's tax investigation of the Democratic president's son was “met with suppression from various political and institutional forces.” They said their disclosures to U.S. congressional committees were protected under federal whistleblower laws.

Lowell countered in Monday's filing that Shapley and Ziegler made “unprecedented public comments on the strength of the evidence, even while charges were pending.”

Lowell, a partner at law firm Winston & Strawn whose clients have included former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, said his statements condemning purported leaks in the Biden case were protected legal opinions and not provable false statements of fact.

“Plaintiffs may feel very strongly that they acted lawfully, but Lowell holds very different views — and has every right to say so,” Lowell’s attorneys told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon.

Hunter Biden separately has sued the IRS over allegedly damaging leaks that he said violated his privacy in the tax case. That lawsuit, filed in D.C. federal court, remains pending.

The case is Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler v. Abbe Lowell, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:24-cv-02646-RJL.

For plaintiffs: Mitchell Langberg of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, and Michael Zummer of Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research

For defendant: Michael Stoll, Jason Weinstein and Charles Michael of Steptoe

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(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)

((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))