Janice R. Andrews
In a major move, Hunter Biden is charged by special counsel David Weiss’s office of collecting bribes from Romanian billionaire Gabriel Popoviciu in order to exert influence over US federal agencies. The closest link that prosecutors have found between President Biden and his son’s foreign business ventures, the subject of years of inquiry by House Republicans, is this claim, which surfaced when Joe Biden was vice president.
In a court document on Wednesday, the special counsel’s office outlined these allegations in relation to Hunter Biden’s federal tax case. According to the document, Hunter Biden began rendering legal services for Popoviciu, a rich Romanian who is being investigated for wrongdoing in his own country, in late 2015. Hunter Biden’s pay, according to the prosecution, was part of a plot to influence public opinion and U.S. policy, namely to get the country to become involved in Popoviciu’s probe in Romania.
The document claims that Hunter Biden and a business partner knew their lobbying activities may affect Joe Biden’s political standing. They arranged the contract so as to hide the actual nature of the job Hunter was doing in order to reduce this danger. The first direct indication that Hunter Biden participated in pushing for compensation comes from this disclosure.
Hunter Biden’s work with Popoviciu was previously referenced by the special counsel’s office in an indictment from December, but Wednesday’s document goes into further detail about their connection and financial transactions. From November 2015 to November 2017, according to the prosecution, Popoviciu gave over $3 million to Hunter Biden and his business associates.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer and confidant, Kevin Morris, has paid his outstanding taxes and penalties. Biden is now facing three felony tax charges and several misdemeanours for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2020. Hunter Biden’s representative did not immediately reply to calls for comment, despite the grave accusations.
The trial that is scheduled to take place in California in early September is expected to examine these transactions and their consequences in more detail. In the middle of a divisive election season, the issue possibly involves the whole Biden family and adds another level of complication to Hunter Biden’s continuing legal and political struggles.
The accusations against Hunter Biden are likely to be a divisive topic as these events play out, with substantial implications for the political and judicial arenas.
