The Biggest Allegations Against Hunter Biden Involving His Father, Explained

Forbes Business Breaking The Biggest Allegations Against Hunter Biden Involving His Father, Explained Sara Dorn Forbes Staff Politics Following Jul 27, 2023, 05:24pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Hunter Biden’s plea deal with the Justice Department on tax and gun charges was thrown into disarray this week, putting a spotlight back onto unrelated—and unproven—claims that the president and his son engaged in questionable business dealings abroad, a years-long fixation that has drawn GOP impeachment calls and vehement White House denials. DELAWARE, UNITED STATES – JULY 26: United States President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, exits in J. .

. . [+] Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Delaware, United States on July 26, 2023.

(Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Key Facts The charges against Hunter Biden focused on nonpayment of taxes and lying on a gun form, and were not linked to his father, but largely uncorroborated allegations President Joe Biden used his influence to aid his son’s foreign business dealings have circulated for years, leading to a long-running investigation by House Republicans. The claims reached a fever pitch weeks before the 2020 election, when the New York Post reported emails allegedly taken from a laptop that once belonged to Hunter Biden indicate his father had contact with his son’s Ukrainian business partners while serving as vice president (Biden has denied having any contact with his family’s business associates). Another email from former Hunter Biden business partner James Gilliar suggested his father would financially benefit from his deals—it included the line “10 held by H for the big guy,” language two former business partners told CBS was code for 10% held by Hunter Biden for his father, but Gilliar and fellow Hunter Biden associate Rob Walker have said they have no knowledge that the president was involved in any of their deals.

Despite these insinuations, House Republicans who have spent months investigating Hunter Biden have not disclosed any evidence of direct financial links between Joe Biden and his family’s business dealings. Reporting also suggests the president has crossed paths with his son’s business associates, including when Hunter Biden accompanied his father on an official government trip to Beijing in 2013 and arranged a handshake between the then-vice president and one of Hunter’s Chinese business partners in a hotel lobby, the New Yorker reported , citing a representative of the private-equity fund the associate worked for. Last week, the New York Post reported that Devon Archer, a former friend and associate of Hunter Biden, is expected to tell lawmakers he witnessed the president speaking with Hunter Biden’s foreign business partners on more than two dozen occasions (it’s unclear whether there’s any proof to back up Archer’s allegations).

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently released an FBI form that detailed a tip from an anonymous whistleblower—described by the FBI in the document as “highly credible”—who said the CEO of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company Hunter Biden sat on the board of, paid $10 million to members of the Biden family in exchange for their help in ousting a Ukrainian corruption prosecutor. However, the FBI has said it has not verified these bribery claims, the FBI form did not specify which Biden family members allegedly received money, and a memo by House Democrats reportedly showed the CEO previously claimed he never had contacts with Joe Biden.

There are also allegations that Hunter Biden, along with Joe Biden’s younger brother, Frank, have invoked the president’s name to business partners: Most recently, IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley claimed the agency had obtained a 2017 WhatsApp message Hunter Biden sent to a Chinese business partner that referenced his father while demanding a payment—though the president has said he wasn’t present when the message was sent. Shapley also recently told House Republicans the Justice Department treated Hunter Biden favorably in its tax and gun charges against him and was denied the authority to charge him outside Delaware—accusations Delaware U. S.

Attorney David Weiss has denied. Chief Critic Joe Biden has repeatedly said he has never had contact with any of his family’s business partners. The White House on Thursday capitalized on the Republican criticism of the impeachment threats, telling The Hill McCarthy was engaging in “a ridiculous, baseless stunt” that’s been “met with resistance — from members of his own party and even his own caucus.

” Tangent House Republicans have ramped up threats to impeach the president in the weeks since Hunter Biden reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Delaware. The deal, which involved him pleading guilty to failing to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018 and entering a diversion program for a separate charge of making a gun purchase while addicted to drugs, unraveled in court Wednesday when Trump-appointed Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned whether Hunter Biden could face additional charges and expressed concerns about linking the tax and gun charges. Biden instead entered not guilty pleas for the tax violations.

Key Background The allegations that Biden used his influence to benefit his family first surfaced when Trump allegedly withheld funding from Ukraine as a way to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky into investigating allegations that Biden advocated for the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor who was probing Burisma. As vice president, Biden was among a coalition of U. S.

and European officials who urged Ukraine to fire Viktor Shokin because he was not following through with anti-corruption reforms, but there is no evidence Shokin was investigating Burisma. Trump’s withholding of aid to Ukraine to force the government to allegedly dig up dirt on his political opponent led to his first impeachment in 2019. What To Watch For House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday made his clearest threat to date to impeach Biden, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity “this is rising to the level of an impeachment inquiry, which provides Congress the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed.

” The House has been investigating Hunter Biden and whether his foreign business dealings intersected with his father’s official government duties for years, and is elevated its probes in recent months after Republicans won control of the House and its committees during the midterm election. Right-wing members, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.

) and Lauren Boebert (Colo. ), have floated unrelated resolutions to begin impeachment inquiries into Biden, citing what they claim is a failure to secure the southern border. Boebert forced a vote on her resolution last month after Weiss and Hunter Biden’s lawyers announced the plea deal that many Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, claimed was too lenient.

McCarthy, at the time, dismissed the effort as premature, but he has recently changed his stance after the bribery claims came to light. Surprising Fact Democrats have taken steps to punish Greene after she displayed censored sexually explicit images of Hunter Biden purportedly taken from his infamous laptop during a House Oversight Committee hearing last week. Rep.

Becca Balint (D-Vt. ) introduced a resolution to censure Greene on Tuesday, citing her use of the images, along with dozens of other grievances. Rep.

Jamie Raskin (D-Md. ) also called on Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky. ) to publicly reprimand Greene.

Contra Some Republicans have denounced their colleagues’ push to impeach Biden, as the effort risks possible hypocrisy claims since the GOP widely criticized Trump’s two impeachments. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.

) accused McCarthy of engaging in “impeachment theater,” in an interview with CNN , telling host Dana Bash he believes McCarthy is floating the impeachment inquiry to placate Republican lawmakers who believe the government spending cuts he agreed to with Biden during the debt ceiling negotiations did not go far enough. Some Republican senators have also suggested the impeachment talk is a distraction from other issues, including Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who told reporters she wants the Senate and the House to focus on Congress’ annual defense spending bill that’s currently being negotiated in both chambers.

McCarthy watered down the statements he made to Hannity in the wake of the criticism, telling reporters Tuesday “I wasn’t announcing it” and noting the House investigations into Biden’s conduct are ongoing. Further Reading Hunter Biden Plea Deal Unravels As He Pleads Not Guilty (Forbes) Hunter Biden Charges Split GOP—Some Stay Silent As Other Claim ‘Sweetheart Deal’ (Forbes) ‘Slap On The Wrist’: GOP Rages Against Hunter Biden Plea Deal–Vows To Continue House Probes (Forbes) Follow me on Twitter . Send me a secure tip .

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