Hunter Biden under investigation for tax affairs

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The only son of the president-elect, Hunter Biden says he’s under investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware.
• Hunter Biden’s tax affairs and business dealings are under probe by the federal government since 2018.
• The young Biden served as a board member of a Ukrainian company during the time of the Obama administration.

President-elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, announced on Wednesday that his tax affairs are under investigation by the Delaware U.S. attorney’s office.

In a statement released by the Biden-Harris transition team, Hunter said that he would deal with the matter appropriately, adding that all his tax transactions are legal and valid.

Biden’s transition team also released a statement saying the president-elect was pleased with his son, and despite many challenges and malicious attacks in the past few months, Hunter only came out stronger.

The transition group did not give further details on the said investigation.

According to a report by CNN, federal officials are looking into Hunter Biden’s business transactions with other countries including China, and other possible tax violations and laws against money laundering. The outlet said the investigation was already ongoing since 2018.

The announcement was only days before the confirmation of Joe Biden as elected president once the meeting of the Electoral College is done. It is expected that the Biden family will be under a lot of scrutiny from President Trump and his supporters considering he hasn’t conceded yet.   

Hunter faced tons of attacks from Trump and his allies during the campaign period, citing his dealings with foreign businesses.

He sat as a board member of an energy company in Ukraine during the Obama administration when his father was vice president.

Last year, during an ABC News interview, Hunter explained that he had a lapse in judgment when he served on the board of a foreign company, not realizing then that his father will be targeted because of that, noting that there’s no irregularity on his dealings.

In the same year, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump for pressuring the president of Ukraine to probe the Bidens.

David Wee, a Trump appointee in 2018, was leading the Delaware attorney’s office in the territory.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware refused to answer questions, saying that there’s a policy from the Justice Department that prohibits them from commenting on the current investigations.

Source: The Hill