Special counsel David Weiss’ office revealed new details about Hunter Biden’s alleged lobbying efforts on behalf of a corrupt Romanian businessman during his father’s vice presidency.
Weiss’ filing claims that while Hunter Biden and his associates, including business partner Rob Walker, sought to influence U.S. officials to halt a Romanian corruption probe, these actions are deemed irrelevant to Hunter’s upcoming tax-fraud trial. Hunter, 54, faces trial starting September 9 in Los Angeles for allegedly evading $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019 on income from foreign dealings.
The filing details that Hunter and his team fabricated a business agreement to avoid registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) while lobbying for Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu. Despite evidence of FARA violations, these are not expected to be part of the tax trial.
The prosecution plans to focus on Hunter’s roles with Ukrainian gas company Burisma and Chinese firm CEFC China Energy. Hunter’s involvement with Burisma and CEFC has been scrutinized for potential conflicts of interest, especially as his father was deeply involved in U.S. foreign policy in Ukraine and China. Hunter’s tax case will primarily revolve around his foreign income and business dealings, rather than these lobbying allegations.
Read more here (New York Post)
