The FBI months ago gathered what agents believed was enough evidence to charge Hunter Bidenthe president’s son, with tax-related crimes and making a false statement when buying a gun, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Evidence gathered by FBI and IRS investigators was sent to the US Attorney’s office in Delaware, the sources said.
A spokesman for the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware declined to comment. The Washington Post was the first to report that the agency had provided evidence of alleged wrongdoing to federal prosecutors.
Chris Clark, Biden’s lawyer, criticized the FBI in a statement to CBS News, accusing someone at the agency of leaking information from grand jury proceedings, which would be a crime he hopes “the Department of Justice will investigate and prosecute with diligence”.
Andrew Harnik/AP
“As is appropriate and legally required, we believe that the prosecutors in this case are diligently and thoroughly weighing not only the evidence provided by the officers, but also all the other witnesses in this case, including the defense witnesses. That is the job of prosecutors.” Clark said.
A source close to Hunter Biden told CBS News that Biden’s team believes the leak was prompted by frustration within the FBI over the length of time prosecutors are taking to deliberate on the case. Biden’s team believes the office is trying to pressure prosecutors to act.
The FBI has faced increasing pressure from Republicans in Congress over claims that it makes decisions based on political considerations.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware has been investigating Hunter Biden since at least 2019. A federal subpoena from that year, obtained by CBS News, sought Hunter Biden’s bank records dating back to 2014, when Joe Biden was vice president. Investigators have been looking into whether Biden owes taxes on income from a controversial period, during his father’s vice presidency, as a board member of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, according to sources familiar with the matter.
CBS News reported in May that Biden had obtained financial support from high-powered Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris, who sources said paid off Biden’s overdue tax debts.
A December 2020 subpoena requested documents from January 2017, “regarding (Hunter) Biden’s income, assets, debts, obligations and financial transactions … and all personal and business expenses.”
The subpoena also requested “all federal, state, local and foreign tax documentation related to (Hunter) Biden.”
Prosecutors who investigate Hunter Biden he also subpoenaed documents from a paternity suit that included his tax records, according to documents and an attorney involved in the matter.
The investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances has been led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018. At the time, he had been acting chief of the Delaware office and received the endorsement of US Senators Tom Carper. and Chris Coons, both Democrats.
In February 2021, shortly after Biden took office, dozens of federal prosecutors appointed by Trump, but then acting attorney general, were asked to resign. Monty Wilkinson asked Weiss to stay on the joba Justice Department official told CBS News.
Mr Biden has said he was not involved in his son’s business dealings and there has been no evidence to refute that.
“I have not taken a dime from any foreign source, ever in my life,” Biden said in an October 2020 presidential debate.
- In:
- Hunter Biden
Add Comment