WASHINGTON – Hunter Biden’s first son was indicted Thursday on nine counts of federal tax fraud, but critics of the long-running investigation into the political scion were quick to note that he still does not face charges for allegedly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). ) — which could involve his father, President Biden.
Special counsel David Weiss said in a statement that his investigation was still “ongoing,” leaving open the possibility of additional charges, but Republican members of Congress slammed the omission.
“Unless US Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in Biden’s fraud scheme and influence peddling, President Biden’s DOJ is clearly protecting Hunter Biden and the big man,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement late Thursday.
“Hunter Biden’s corporate entity involved with today’s allegations funneled foreign cash into Joe Biden’s bank account,” Comer added.
In FARA cases, prosecutors allege that defendants operated on behalf of foreign principals — which could include governments, political organizations or individuals seeking to influence US officials — without complying with registration and disclosure requirements.
Although Hunter Biden was indicted on nine counts of federal tax fraud, he still does not face charges for allegedly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Getty Images
FARA cases generally must be filed within five years of the offense, meaning many of Hunter’s most famous acts involving foreign associates of his then-vice president father may not be prosecuted.
Hunter, however, served on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma from 2014 to 2019 — earning $1 million a year while his father led US policy on Ukraine and half that amount starting in March 2017, after Joe Biden’s vice presidency ended — and held a 10% holdings in Chinese government-backed investment fund BHR Partners from 2013 through at least part of 2021, giving prosecutors a chance to seek FARA charges.
In the latest indictment, Hunter, 53, faces three felony counts and six misdemeanor counts for allegedly evading $1.4 million in taxes over a four-year period from 2016 to 2019.
The case, which carries a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison for Hunter if convicted, was brought by Weiss in Los Angeles.
In the FARA case, the defendant was accused of operating on behalf of a foreign principal. In the case of Hunter Biden, this could involve his father, President Biden. Getty Images
Hunter Biden separately faces three felony federal firearms charges in Delaware that carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
In June, Weiss signed a plea deal in the only trial for the eldest son on both tax and gun charges after US attorneys appointed by Biden in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, refused to cooperate in tax cases in their jurisdictions.
The president’s son abandoned that “sweetheart” deal during a July court hearing over his lawyer’s demand for assurances that he has immunity from criminal responsibility for other past conduct, leading to Weiss’s Aug. 11 appointment as special counsel, allowing him to bring the case in outside of Delaware.
Hunter’s alleged FARA violations, which may be too old to be prosecuted, cover his actions during his father’s vice presidency, which ended in 2017.
That included holding DC dinners in 2014 and 2015 attended by his father and friends from Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, and taking Mexican friends to the vice president’s residence and setting up meetings for them with Obama-Biden administration officials.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), member of the Oversight Committee, tweeted Friday, “DOJ has abandoned the FARA charge. Income comes from foreign countries and we have the proof.”
FARA charges can result in significant prison terms.
In addition to the fraud allegations, Hunter Biden faces three felony gun charges. Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced in 2018 to 60 months in prison specifically for FARA violations related to his work in Ukraine, plus another 30 months for tax and bank fraud and witness tampering.
“The dropping of the FARA charges remains a stark contrast to other cases, including against various Trump associates,” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told The Post on Friday.
“There is no evidence that Weiss ever seriously pursued the allegations. The result was to continue to protect the White House in the scandal. The FARA charges will add pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel on the corruption scandal itself. Indeed, the indictment itself is a miracle of evasion — charging tax evasion without addressing the corruption that makes the money itself.”
Hunter Biden spends lavishly
Instead of paying his taxes between 2016 and 2019, the indictment claims that the embattled first child spent his money on:
- $1.64 million in ATM withdrawals
- $683,212 for “payments to various women”
- $397,530 for clothing and accessories
- $309,277 for tuition/education
- $237,496 for health, beauty and pharmacy products
- $236,634 for various retail purchases
- $214,923 for food, groceries and restaurants
- $188,960 for adult entertainment
- $71,869 for drug and alcohol rehabilitation
- $42,856 for home improvements
- $24,445 for entertainment
- $23,567 for sports and recreation
The latest charges were announced as the House of Representatives prepares to vote next week to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry into the president over alleged corruption.
A vote is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday — the same day Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear for a House Oversight Committee deposition.
Republican leaders said the first son would be in contempt – potentially leading to further criminal liability – if he refused to attend.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
