Best views, weather, etc. How to test them 👓 SC, Ala. sites look back Betty Ford honored
fact-checking

Fact check: Yes, Hunter Biden is under federal investigation over taxes

Ella Lee
USA TODAY

The claim: Hunter Biden is under federal investigation over his tax affairs

The financial dealings of President-elect Joe Biden's son, Hunter, was a hot button topic during the elder Biden's presidential campaign. Now, some claim the situation surrounding his son's finances has escalated.

"BREAKING: Hunter Biden is under federal investigation over his tax affairs," reads a Dec. 9 Instagram post by conservative commentator Benny Johnson. He did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

Fact check:Joe Biden legally won presidential election, despite persistent contrary claims

Yes, Hunter Biden is under investigation for tax dealings

Hunter Biden announced Dec. 9 that federal prosecutors were investigating his tax affairs, which he said he first learned about the day prior. 

“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors,” he said in a statement.

More:Hunter Biden's taxes are under investigation by the US attorney's office in Delaware

The investigation was launched in 2018, before the elder Biden announced his presidential run, according to the Associated Press. A Justice Department policy surrounding elections prohibits overt investigative acts, which is why investigators did not reach out to the younger Biden prior to the election. 

Federal investigators served a number of subpoenas on Dec. 8, including for Hunter Biden, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe, USA TODAY previously reported. The tax investigation centers on his business dealings, the person said.

More:Hunter Biden subpoena seeks info on Burisma, more than two dozen other entities in tax investigation

There's no indication the investigation involves the elder Biden, and his transition office said in a statement that the president-elect is "deeply proud of my son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”

President Joe Biden's son Hunter is in the spotlight for his business dealings with Ukraine and China.

Other claims about the younger Biden remain unfounded

Less than a month out from the November presidential election, Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, claimed a laptop recovered from a Delaware repair shop allegedly revealed damning evidence against Hunter Biden. The New York Post, using material from the laptop, similarly accused the younger Biden of corruption based on his work as an adviser to Burisma in an Oct. 14 story.

Fact check:Joe Biden was never 'wanted' in Ukraine; prosecutors rejected a complaint

But the FBI was investigating the laptop as potential disinformation from Russia to influence the election, and the Post's story has come under fire for relying on questionable sources and documents. The elder Biden told reporters he had no response to the accusations in the Post's story, though members of his campaign categorically denied key aspects of it. 

“Another smear campaign,” Joe Biden said. “Right up your alley.”

Another person familiar with the matter previously told USA TODAY that the tax investigation has nothing to do with the laptop that became central to some conservatives' attacks on the Biden campaign.

More:FBI probing whether emails in New York Post story about Hunter Biden are tied to Russian disinformation

Other claims against the Bidens, that Hunter Biden received $3.5 million from Russia or that Joe Biden was "wanted" in Ukraine due to his son's dealings, remain unfounded. 

Investigation makes selecting new AG messy

The incoming Biden administration has yet to select a nominee for attorney general — a task that's now much more delicate due to the Justice Department's ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden. 

President Donald Trump has publicly attempted to bend the department to his will, so as the transition from his presidency to Biden's begins, analysts say there's an increased urgency for Biden to maintain the Justice Department's traditional independence, particularly in criminal investigative matters. 

"What Joe Biden needs to do is send a message that the administration is going back to way things worked before (Trump)," Donald Ayer, a deputy attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration, previously told USA TODAY. "The Hunter Biden situation should be part of the larger theme of restoring justice. You do that by saying that Hunter Biden is going to be handled like anybody else, regardless of his name."

More:Hunter Biden inquiry now weighs on president-elect's looming attorney general nomination

No criminal charges have been filed against Hunter Biden, and he maintains he's done nothing wrong.

"This is a golden opportunity, actually, for Joe Biden to demonstrate that partisan politics will not have a role in these kinds of decisions," Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, previously told USA TODAY

Our rating: True

We rate the claim that Hunter Biden is under federal investigation over his tax affairs as TRUE because it was supported by our research. The President-elect's son announced he was under investigation on Dec. 9, and he denies that he engaged in any wrongdoing. 

Our fact-check sources: 

Contributing: Bart Jansen, Kevin Johnson and Kristine Phillips 

Thank you for supporting our journalism. Youcan subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.

Featured Weekly Ad