Hunter Biden Lobbied the US Government on Behalf of a Romanian Businessman, Prosecutors Say
Summary from the AllSides News Team
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."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Prosecutors claim Hunter Biden once agreed to lobby US on behalf of Romanian businessmanederal prosecutors alleged in a new court filing Wednesday that Hunter Biden agreed to lobby US officials on behalf of a Romanian businessman facing criminal investigations back home.
The new accusation came from special counsel David Weiss, who is prosecuting Hunter Biden for alleged tax evasion. The case, scheduled for trial in September, touches on many of Hunter Biden’s controversial foreign business dealings, sometimes while his father was in office.
From the Center
US prosecutors says Romanian businessman hired Hunter Biden to seek US policy influenceProsecutors in the U.S. criminal tax case against Hunter Biden accused him of accepting payments from a Romanian businessman who sought to "influence U.S. government agencies" in connection with a criminal probe in Romania.
The U.S. Department of Justice made the allegation in a Wednesday filing in Los Angeles federal court, where U.S. President Joe Biden's son faces a scheduled Sept. 9 trial over tax evasion charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
From the Right
Hunter Biden, Business Partners Lobbied U.S. Government on Behalf of Romanian Businessman, Prosecutors SayHunter Biden and one of his business partners crafted a scheme to dodge U.S. foreign-lobbying laws and shield then–vice president Joe Biden from the consequences of their lucrative agreement to lobby the U.S. government on behalf of a Romanian businessman accused of corruption, federal prosecutors said in court papers filed Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors filed a response to a pre-trial motion from Hunter Biden’s attorneys seeking to exclude political-corruption allegations from his criminal tax trial set to begin next month and laid out the evidence allegedly showing that Hunter Biden acted...
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