Hunter Biden Lobbied the US Government on Behalf of a Romanian Businessman, Prosecutors Say

Hunter Biden faces a tax evasion trial set for September. In a new court filing, special counsel motioned to introduce testimony about his alleged agreement to influence U.S. policy for a foreign client. 

The Agreement: The prosecutors expect testimony from Biden's business associates to reveal his agreement with Romanian oligarch Gabriel Popoviciu, who has been accused of corruption. He reportedly paid Biden and his business partners to lobby U.S. officials to become involved in the Romanian investigation against him.

The Trial: The testimony would establish the income Biden received as well as his mental capacity, though at the time he was addicted to cocaine. 

Key Quote: Nearly all the payments occurred during Joe Biden's vice presidency; however, prosecutors said they “[do] not intend to reference allegations that the defendant violated [the Foreign Agents Registration Act] or improperly coordinated with the Obama Administration. We [also] do not intend to...argue that (Hunter Biden) was trying to funnel money to Joe Biden."

How the Media Covered It: While ABC News (Lean Left bias) and National Review (Lean Right bias) both specified the Romanian businessman Biden was accused of working for, CNN (Lean Left bias) did not name him, and Reuters (Center bias) said they could not independently verify the information. The National Review implied prosecutors were wrong not to charge him with FARA violations, saying, "Nonetheless, prosecutors will not be accusing him of violating...FARA laws...even though the agreement was designed for Biden to avoid foreign-agent registration."