by The FBI months ago gathered what agents believed was sufficient evidence to charge Hunter Bidenthe president’s son, with tax-related crimes and making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The evidence gathered by FBI and IRS investigators was sent to the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, the sources said.
A spokesman for the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware declined to comment. The Washington Post was the first to report that the agency had provided evidence of alleged crimes to federal prosecutors.
Chris Clark, Biden’s lawyer, criticized the FBI in a statement to CBS News, accusing someone within the agency of leaking information from grand jury proceedings, which would be a felony that he expects “the Department of Justice will vigorously investigate and prosecute.” ».
Andrew Harnik / AP
“As required and legally required, we believe the prosecutors in this case diligently and thoroughly weighed not only the evidence provided by the agents, but also all other witnesses in this case, including defense witnesses. That’s the job of prosecutors,” Clark said.
A source close to Hunter Biden told CBS News that Biden’s team believes this leak is due to frustration within the FBI over the time it is taking prosecutors to discuss this case. Biden’s team believes the presidency is trying to pressure prosecutors to act.
The FBI is facing increasing pressure from Republicans in Congress over allegations that it is making decisions based on political reasons.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Delaware has been investigating Hunter Biden since at least 2019. A federal subpoena from that year, obtained by CBS News, sought Hunter Biden’s bank records dating back to 2014, when Joe Biden was vice president. . Investigators have been looking into whether Biden owes taxes on income from a controversial stint during his father’s vice presidency as a board member of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, according to sources familiar with the matter.
CBS News reported in May that Biden had gathered financial support by high-powered Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris, who sources say paid off Biden’s overdue tax debts.
A December 2020 subpoena requested documents as early as January 2017, “relating to (Hunter) Biden’s income, assets, debts, liabilities and financial transactions … and all personal and business expenditures.”
The subpoena also sought “all federal, state, local and foreign tax documents relating to (Hunter) Biden.”
Prosecutors are investigating Hunter Biden also subpoenaed documents from a paternity suit involving his tax records, according to documents and an attorney involved in the matter.
The investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances was led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018. At the time, he was acting chief of the Delaware office and received the endorsements of the state’s U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, both Democrats.
In February 2021, shortly after Biden took office, dozens of Trump-appointed federal prosecutors were asked to resign, but then-Attorney General Monty Wilkinson asked Weiss to stay on the joba Justice Department official told CBS News.
Mr. Biden has said he was not involved in his son’s business dealings, and no evidence has emerged to contradict that.
“I have not received a dime from any foreign source, ever in my life,” Mr. Biden said in an October 2020 presidential debate.
