Months ago, the FBI gathered what agents thought was enough evidence to charge Biden hunterthe president’s son, with tax-related crimes and making a false statement when buying a gun, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The evidence collected by FBI and IRS investigators was sent to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware, the sources said.
A spokesperson for the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware declined to comment. The Washington Post was the first to report that the agency provided evidence of alleged crimes to federal prosecutors.
Chris Clark, an attorney for Biden, slammed the FBI in a statement to CBS News, accusing someone within the agency of leaking information about grand jury proceedings, which would be a crime he is guilty of. expects “the Department of Justice to diligently investigate and prosecute”.
Andrew Harnik/AP
“As appropriate and legally required, we believe that prosecutors in this case are diligently and thoroughly evaluating not only the evidence provided by officers, but also all other witnesses in this case, including defense witnesses. C That’s the job of prosecutors,” Clark said.
A source close to Hunter Biden told CBS News that Biden’s team believes the leak was driven by frustration within the FBI over the time it takes prosecutors to deliberate on the case. Biden’s team believes the office is trying to pressure prosecutors into action.
The FBI has faced increasing pressure from congressional Republicans over claims it makes decisions based on political considerations.
The Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office 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 from 2014, when Joe Biden was vice president. . Investigators are looking into whether Biden owed income taxes 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 received financial support of powerful Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, who sources say paid off Biden’s outstanding tax debts.
A December 2020 subpoena requested documents dating back to January 2017, “regarding (Hunter) Biden’s income, assets, debts, obligations and financial transactions…and all personal and business expenses.”
The subpoena also requested “all federal, state, local and foreign tax documents related to (Hunter) Biden.”
Prosecutors are investigating Biden hunter also subpoenaed documents from a paternity lawsuit that included his tax records, according to documents and an attorney involved in the case.
The probe into Hunter Biden’s finances was led by U.S. attorney David Weiss, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018. He was then acting Delaware bureau chief and has received the endorsement of US state senators, 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 the then-acting attorney general Monty Wilkinson asked Weiss to stay at worka 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 refute this.
“I have never taken a dime from any foreign source in my life,” Biden said in October 2020 during a presidential debate.