In papers filed with the court August 7, special counsel David Weiss is accusing presidential son Hunter Biden of attempting to “influence U.S. government policy” during his father, Joe Biden’s, turn as vice-president under President Barack Obama.
Weiss said a Romanian business magnate hired Hunter to prod the U.S. government into helping end an investigation into the businessman. His name is Gabriel Popoviciu, and he has been accused of corruption in Romania, and apparently hoped the U.S. could stick its nose into the Romanian government’s investigation and put a stop to it.
Hunter Biden is on trial for tax evasion, and Weiss has promised to put Hunter’s former business colleagues on the stand to testify about the relationship between Hunter and Popviciu. Prosecutors accuse Hunter of bribery, essentially. They say Popoviciu paid Hunter to influence U.S. government action and policy. Taking money from a foreign agent to do so is a violation of U.S. law.
Hunter Biden and his father have been embroiled in overseas business scandals for years. President Joe Biden, who exited the presidential race abruptly in July 21, has been accused of financially benefiting from his son Hunter’s overseas business connections, though the president denies this.
The latest accusations against Hunter are nearly certain to stir up further GOP scrutiny of the Biden family’s financial affairs. Hunter Biden, for his part, has accused Republicans of trying to take down his family for purely partisan reasons, and denies that he or his father have committed illegal acts. He also claims that he never involved his father in his business, a claim most observers simply do not believe.
Weiss and his team say Hunter Biden and a colleague said yes to Popviciu’s request to help get the criminal charges against the Romanian dropped. Because such activity could have catastrophic effects on his father’s presidency and campaign, the U.S. prosecutors say, Hunter arranged his efforts to “conceal the true nature of the work” he was performing for the foreign national.
The prosecution said it is not going to directly charge Hunter with taking foreign money, but they will cite the activity in his upcoming tax evasion trial in September for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million to the IRS over a four-year period. They say it demonstrates Hunter’s thinking and motivations and is relevant to the case.
