Although no final decision has been made on whether to file charges against President Joe Biden’s son, sources say the investigation has intensified in recent months along with discussions between Delaware prosecutors, investigators leading the investigation and officials of the headquarters of the Department of Justice.
Recently, discussions have focused on the possibility of filing charges that could include alleged tax offenses and making a false statement in connection with Biden’s purchase of a firearm at a time when he would have been barred from doing so. -due to his recognized struggles with drug addiction.
The investigation into the president’s son has been seen as important among the political issues facing Merrick Garland as attorney general. Weiss is one of the few named by former President Donald Trump that the Biden administration retained because they oversaw politically sensitive investigations.
In addition to pressure, Republicans in Congress have already announced that if they take over the House of Representatives after the midterm elections, they plan to begin new investigations and hold hearings to examine the conduct of Hunter Biden and others. members of the Biden family.
The guidelines of the Department of Justice governing politically sensitive investigations during an election year are also potentially at stake. Current and former Justice Department officials say there is an unwritten rule that prosecutors avoid presenting politically sensitive cases within 60 days of elections.
Some current and former Justice officials have debated whether the rules necessarily apply in this case, as Joe Biden is not in the mid-term vote.
A Hunter Biden attorney declined to comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware declined to comment.
Hunter Biden has not been charged with any crime and has previously denied any crime. His father is not being investigated as part of the investigation into his son’s business activities, according to sources who have been informed.
Reducing the focus
The Justice Department investigation initially focused on Hunter Biden’s financial and business activities in foreign countries since Joe Biden was vice president. But investigators have examined a number of broader conducts, including whether Hunter Biden and his associates violated money laundering, campaign finance, tax and foreign lobbying laws, as well as whether Hunter Biden broke federal firearms and other regulations, several sources said.
As the investigation has entered its final stages, prosecutors have narrowed their focus to tax and gun-related charges, people say.
Justice officials have debated the strength of the case for months and held discussions on whether more work should be done before deciding on possible charges. Investigators from the FBI and IRS criminal investigation agency and Delaware prosecutors and the Justice Department headquarters have been involved in these discussions, CNN reported earlier.
Hunter Biden has spoken publicly about his own struggles for substance abuse, and some Justice officials wondered if his open discussions about his past drug use could weaken his case if they carried one.
Some officials have pointed out that Biden could argue that he was not aware of misconduct because he was using drugs, a source said. CNN reported earlier that some officials were worried it might be a defense, but more recently, Justice officials have rallied around the view that Biden’s public accounts of his recovery show he was fully responsible for the actions that were now scrutinized, according to the known person. with the discussions.
At the meetings, officials also discussed the timing of any possible charges given the sensitivity of bringing a politically related case closer to the election, another person said.
The Department of Justice memoranda advise prosecutors not to present any case or take any open investigative measures for the purpose of affecting an election or providing an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate.
Garland issued a note in May to prosecutors reiterating the department’s position on election year sensitivities. The note is one that attorneys general send each election year, and generally advises prosecutors to avoid making important investigative decisions or accusations near an election to avoid the perception of partisan motives.
In 2018, the final year of the midterm congressional election, U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan charged two politically sensitive cases in August: one against Michael Cohen, a former Trump personal lawyer, and another against Chris Collins, then a Republican MP and first Trump. sympathizing that he ran for re-election that year.
In both cases, prosecutors made their indictment decisions in light of the election, people familiar with the cases said.
Cohen pleaded guilty that August to campaign finance, taxes and other charges and completed a three-year prison sentence. Collins, who won re-election while on trial, pleaded guilty and resigned his seat. Collins was sentenced to 26 months in prison, but only served two months after being pardoned by former President Donald Trump.
Trump Justice officials rejected a request from New York prosecutors to execute a search warrant on Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, during the months surrounding the 2020 election. Biden gave the green light to the search, which was approved by a federal judge.