Federal prosecutors’ investigation into Hunter Biden is heating up and the indictment of the president’s son is a real possibility, a recent series of reports suggests.
The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and the Associated Press have all published stories recently with a similar theme: the investigation, run by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, has gotten increasingly active, with witnesses testifying to a grand jury.
The investigation focuses on Hunter Biden’s work for foreign interests over the past decade, particularly for businesses or tycoons in Ukraine, China, and Kazakhstan.
"Ethical questions have long swirled about Hunter’s foreign consulting and investment work," Vox writes, "which he began as his father was set to become vice president and continued amid tumultuous years for Hunter and the Biden family. Critics have argued he was at the very least trading on his father’s name, or that foreign interests were paying him exorbitantly in hopes of pleasing his father. President Trump became obsessed with all this as Joe Biden prepared to challenge him for reelection, and Trump’s allies have tried hard to make charges of Hunter’s purported corruption stick to Joe — so far without success.
Vox noted that the investigation is focused on three main areas.
Taxes: Did Hunter properly pay taxes on the millions of dollars in income he made? "It seems like the answer might be 'not at first,'" Vox writes, "since he belatedly coughed up over $1 million to pay off his tax liability last year, per the Times. That wouldn’t get him off the hook for past criminal conduct, though, and the Wall Street Journal reports prosecutors are examining whether Hunter “moved funds in a way to obscure his tax liability.”
Money laundering: Hunter is being investigated for potential money laundering — bringing foreign funds into the U.S. financial system in connection with some sort of crime. Several financial institutions have filed “suspicious activity reports” to the U.S. government about movements of funds in and out of Hunter’s accounts, including to his uncle James Biden.
Acting as an unregistered foreign agent: The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires that individuals who do political, public relations, or lobbying work for foreign clients register with the government as foreign agents. Ordinary business work for foreign clients does not require FARA registration. But when that work moves from the business realm to the political realm — or, importantly, to the public relations realm — that obligation may kick in.
Hunter Biden has denied any wrongdoing.
