After a multiyear investigation into Hunter Biden, prosecutors could be close to sharing any possible results with the public and whether the president’s son will face any criminal charges.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that people familiar with the matter said prosecutors are close to a decision on whether to charge Biden with possible tax-related and gun-related legal violations.
The news came after his legal team reportedly met with the Justice Department (DOJ) to discuss possible charges that Biden might be facing.
Biden first announced in December 2020 that the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware was investigating his tax affairs after being a regular target of attacks from former President Trump during the 2020 presidential election campaign.
Trump primarily targeted the now-president’s son over his membership on a board for a Ukrainian energy company while Joe Biden was serving as vice president during the Obama administration.
Hunter Biden has acknowledged that he had “poor judgment” in taking the role because it put his father in a position to be attacked, but he emphasized that he did not commit any wrongdoing.
Trump and his allies have called for Hunter Biden to face charges and accused the president of being involved in his son’s business affairs but have not presented evidence of that.
Trump’s push for the older and younger Biden to face charges led him to make a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019, in which he threatened to cut off aid if Ukrainian authorities did not launch an investigation. Trump was impeached by the House over the call but acquitted by the Senate.
Multiple reports indicate that Biden has been under investigation for his foreign business dealings, specifically income he received from the Ukrainian company and operations in China.
The Post reported in October that prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to charge Biden with tax crimes. They also reportedly had evidence of him falsifying paperwork for a gun purchase that he made in 2018.
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware and a Trump appointee, would ultimately make the decision about whether to file charges.
President Biden said in response to the reports that enough evidence existed for Hunter to face charges that he has “great confidence in my son.”
“I love him, and he’s on the straight and narrow, and he has been for a couple years now. And I’m just so proud of him,” he said.
Biden has vowed to allow the DOJ to conduct its investigation without any outside interference, and the White House has repeatedly referred questions about the investigation to the DOJ.
But the Biden administration was accused of mishandling the investigation in recent weeks. An attorney for a possible whistleblower who is a supervisor for the Internal Revenue Service sent Congress a letter late last month that they have evidence contradicting sworn statements that a top appointee gave to Congress.
It alleges that the administration has allowed clear conflicts of interest to affect the investigation and notes instances of politics impacting decisions in the case.
The White House reiterated in response that the investigation would be handled independently by the DOJ and noted that Weiss was appointed by Trump.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed the FBI on Wednesday for a document that he says details an unspecified “alleged criminal scheme” involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who jointly sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, do not directly accuse Biden of participating in the scheme and describe it only in broad terms.
The White House rejected the idea, saying that congressional Republicans have for five years “been lobbing unfounded, unproven, politically-motivated attacks against the President and his family without offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests.”
