Final report of Special Counsel David Weiss on it A years-long investigation into Hunter Biden She decided that the first son's drug use could not explain the failure to pay taxes on millions of dollars in income earned from his “family name and connections.”
“As a well-educated lawyer and businessman, Mr. Biden consciously and voluntarily chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years. From 2016 to 2020, Mr. Biden received more than $7 million in gross income, including About $1.5 million in 2016, $2.3 million in 2017, and $2.1 million in 2018, $1 million in 2019, and $1 million in 2019. “$188,000 from January through October 15, 2020,” Weiss wrote in his final report released Monday.
“Mr. Biden obtained this money by using his last name and connections to secure lucrative business opportunities, such as a seat on the board of a Ukrainian industrial group, Burisma Holdings Limited, and a joint venture with individuals associated with a Chinese energy conglomerate. He negotiated and executed contracts and agreements,” Weiss continued. “I paid him millions of dollars for limited work.”
Hunter Biden, 54, had a busy year on the court last year, when he ruled He was convicted in two separate federal cases He was tried by Weiss. He began his first trial in Delaware in June, when he faced three felony drug offenses, before pleading guilty in a separate tax case in September.
Department of Justice releases Special Counsel David Weiss' report on Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden leave the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 07, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. Hunter Biden's trial on felony gun charges continues today with additional witnesses. (Photo by Kevin Deitch/Getty Images) (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)
Hunter Biden's trial in September revolved around charges of three tax felonies and six misdemeanor tax crimes in connection with failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. As jury selection was about to begin in Los Angeles federal court for the case, Hunter Biden made a surprise guilty plea.
Weiss continued in his report that Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” and that he “intentionally failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some Or all these taxes.”
Weiss added that the first son's previous drug use could not explain his failure to pay taxes.
Hunter Biden: A look at how the saga that spanned more than six years developed
“These are not ‘insignificant’ or ‘technical’ tax code violations,” Weiss wrote. “And Mr. Biden’s behavior cannot be explained by his drug use — Mr. Biden clearly filed his false 2018 return, in which he deliberately understated his income to reduce his tax liability.” “In February 2020, about eight months after his tax return,” he regained his sobriety. Therefore, Mr. Biden’s prosecution was justified given the nature and seriousness of his tax crimes.
US Attorney for the District of Delaware David C. Weiss. (Screenshot from Fox News)
Hunter has it well documented History of drug abuseWhich was most notably documented in his memoir, published in 2021, entitled “Beautiful Things.” The book walks readers through his past cocaine addiction, before he got sober in 2019. The memoir came to light widely in his separate firearms case in June, when a jury found him guilty of three felony charges related to him buying a gun while high on cocaine. Materials.
Biden pardons Hunter Biden's son before leaving the Oval Office
“The evidence showed that because Mr. Biden held high-paying positions earning him millions of dollars, he chose to continue to fund his extravagant lifestyle rather than pay his taxes. He then chose to lie to his accountants by claiming false business deductions when, in fact, he knew they were expenses.” Personally, he did it on his own, and his tax return preparers relied on him because, among other reasons, he was the only one who understood the true nature of his deductions and failed to provide them with records that might have been disclosed. Weiss continued: “The deductions were phony.”
Charges related to the tax case carry a penalty of up to 17 years behind bars, but the first son would likely face a much shorter sentence under federal sentencing guidelines. He was scheduled to be sentenced on December 16, but was pardoned Father President Biden earlier that month.
Biden won't pardon Hunter, White House reiterates, but critics aren't so sure
Hunter Biden's sweeping pardon includes a pardon that applies to any crimes he “committed or may have committed” at the federal level.
FILE – President Joe Biden, wearing a Team USA jacket and walking with his son Hunter Biden, heads toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
The Vice report also took issue with the president's pardon of Hunter Biden, specifically how President Biden called Hunter Biden's prosecutions “selective” and “unfair.”
Hunter Biden was found guilty on all charges in the gun trial
“This statement is unwarranted and false,” Weiss wrote in his report. “Other presidents have pardoned their family members, but in doing so, none of them used this occasion as an opportunity to abuse public servants in the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.”
“Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine public confidence in Our criminal justice system“The President’s statements unfairly impugn the integrity of not only Department of Justice employees, but all public employees who make these difficult decisions in good faith,” Weiss wrote in another section of the report.
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The Justice Department sent the Weiss report to Congress on Monday evening, officially ending the years-long investigation into the first son.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
