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The legal cloud hanging over Hunter Biden, the president’s son, may be lifting, but the political cloud resulting from his awkward business arrangements and frequently troubled life are not going anywhere.
Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors after years of “willful failure” to pay federal income tax. He is also working with prosecutors to avoid trial for violation of federal law after his purchase of a handgun at a time when he was addicted to drugs. The firearm was later thrown into a dumpster by his then-girlfriend, who is also his brother’s widow.
“It is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved,” his lawyer Christopher Clark said in a statement after the filing of court documents related to the agreements.
He argued the president’s son has turned a page in his life.
“I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward,” Clark said.
But it’s not entirely clear that the US attorney’s office sees things with the same level of closure; its statement refers to the case as “ongoing,” perhaps in part because a judge has not signed off and perhaps because there are other matters we don’t know about.
Who is the US attorney overseeing this deal?
Importantly, the attorney who has led the Hunter Biden probe is a Republican and a Donald Trump appointee.
In 2018, when he was confirmed by the Senate to be US attorney for the District of Delaware, David Weiss was listed by Trump as a lawyer who shared his vision for “Making America Safe Again,” CNN’s profile notes.
About the gun charge. What is a pretrial diversion program?
Clark said the firearm charge “will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement.”
According to the Department of Justice website, this is a discretionary option available to US attorneys to “divert certain offenders from traditional criminal justice processing into alternative systems of supervision and services.”
What are the max penalties for these crimes?
Gun charges for someone addicted to drugs can carry up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the court documents. Each of the tax charges could be punished by up to a year in prison and either a $100,000 fine or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
Details of the exact plea agreement will be forthcoming. But the government will recommend probation for Biden, meaning no jail time. A judge has to sign off on the agreement.
How much did Hunter Biden owe in taxes?
The exact figure is not clear from the agreement, but it sounds like a lot of money.
He made more than $1.5 million in taxable income in both 2017 and 2018 and owed more than $100,000 in each of those years, according to the court documents.
His attorneys said last July that he had already paid all of his back taxes. CNN has reported that emails between Hunter Biden and his accountant in October 2018 suggested he had not filed his 2017 taxes – six months after the deadline.
There is nothing in the agreement about earlier tax years, but that July 2022 CNN report also included an email from his accountant in 2018 that said he still owed $158,000 for the 2015 tax year.
Hunter Biden’s finances have clearly been an ongoing problem.
How much exactly was Hunter Biden making during those years and from whom?
Again, it’s not entirely clear.
We do know that during those years he was making as much as $50,000 per month sitting on one board, for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. This agreement does not disclose his total income or his entire tax bill.
Will this end public or Republican interest in Hunter Biden and his finances?
No. Far from it.
Republicans have pointed to financial records that show Hunter and other Biden family members were paid more than $10 million from foreign sources alone between 2015 and 2017.
Republican investigators in the House have pledged to subpoena bank records to learn more. They have tried to imply that President Joe Biden was involved in some of these financial arrangements, but there is so far no evidence to support the claim.
Republicans have also complained that an informant’s tip suggesting some Joe Biden involvement while he was vice president was not more thoroughly investigated by the FBI. But it’s notable that the investigation in question – we’re not sure who it was with – was conducted during the Trump administration.
Why does everyone know so much about Hunter Biden’s finances?
The infamous laptop that turned up at a Delaware repair shop before the 2020 election had a lot of information. CNN’s investigative team hired a cyber forensics expert to help authenticate a cache of emails related to Hunter Biden’s finances that were allegedly traced back to the laptop and posted on the internet by a former Trump White House aide.
As the investigative team noted last July: Information from the laptop has fueled countless stories about Biden’s drug abuse, alleged sexual indiscretions and money trouble, many of which CNN – and other media outlets – have not been able to verify.
Hunter Biden’s current income is also a line of inquiry for Republicans
He is an artist who gets top dollar for works displayed at shows. He and the White House have pledged not to learn the identities of people who buy his work.
Plus, he is involved in a child support disagreement in Arkansas. His attorneys have said he can no longer afford to pay $20,000 in child support. He could be forced to turn over more detailed financial data as part of those proceedings.
‘Slap on the wrist’
Republican lawmakers who have focused on Hunter Biden are not waiting for this plea agreement to be finalized to criticize it.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said it was a “sweetheart” plea deal and a “slap on the wrist.”
Trump compared the plea deal with the DOJ essentially giving Biden a traffic ticket.
Add to that criticism the IRS whistleblower who has told Republicans on Capitol Hill there is political influence in the Hunter Biden investigation at the DOJ.
That means that while Hunter Biden is likely to avoid jail, he’s far from done being the target of investigations now that Republicans control the House.
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