President-elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, announced that his tax affairs are under investigation by the Justice Department.
“I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” Hunter Biden said in a statement released December 9 by the president-elect’s transition team.
He added that he was confident that the investigation would conclude that his taxes were handled appropriately, “with the benefit of professional tax advisors.”
Hunter Biden’s personal affairs have received intense scrutiny, particularly from Republicans who have accused him of inappropriately profiting off his family name through his international business work in countries like China and Ukraine.
Jason B. Freeman of Freeman Law speculated that the newly announced tax investigation, if accurately reported, could have arisen as a tangential issue related to something that the younger Biden was already under investigation for.
“The most informed guess I can make is that it has something to do with the issues that had been raised before about payments related to China or Ukraine,” Freeman suggested. It could simply be that someone at the Justice Department is asking “natural questions” about how his income was reported, he said.
Freeman said the investigation could find that there are simply math errors, or that there is a misunderstanding on the part of the prosecutor.
“One thing I’ve learned from doing this, representing people under investigation throughout my career, you do have to keep an open mind about whatever the issues are, and many times they can be explained,” he said.
Freeman added that he’d be interested to see who else the Justice Department might subpoena and interview, as well as how long the department has been investigating Biden on the matter.
A Justice Department spokesperson said only that it’s department policy not to comment on ongoing investigations.
Follow Jonathan Curry (@jtcurry005) on Twitter for real-time updates.