Prosecutors in Hunter Biden’s upcoming federal tax trial in California intend to present evidence showing that the first son received payments from a foreign client in return for influencing U.S. policy. This evidence supports a major claim made by IRS whistleblowers to Congress last year: that the Department of Justice had evidence of Hunter Biden’s alleged crimes but failed to bring charges before the statute of limitations ran out, Just the News reported on Friday.
Motions filed earlier this week reveal that federal prosecutors plan to present evidence at trial showing that Hunter Biden and his business associates were paid by a Romanian businessman to sway U.S. policy and public opinion. Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight and representative for IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, described the new filing as “infuriating” in a post on X Thursday.
“…Special Counsel Weiss is demonstrating to a T exactly what SSA Shapley and SA Ziegler blew the whistle on: Weiss’s office had clear evidence of crimes by Hunter Biden that they almost swept under the rug when they allowed the statute of limitations to expire,” he wrote. “Weiss is just using the Romanian payments as evidence of intent to evade taxes But the evidence (not ‘allegations,’ as the filings point out) shows what Hunter Biden ‘did do for [Gabriel Popoviciu]’–and the fact of the matter is that it violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” he added.
The possibility of Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations has loomed over Hunter Biden’s business transactions, with Shapley testifying that his team was obstructed from further investigation. House Republican committees leading the impeachment inquiry into President Biden have identified this pattern in multiple deals, not just the Romanian arrangement detailed in the court filing. They accuse Hunter Biden of operating an “influence peddling” scheme with various foreign clients, though the impeachment effort has lost momentum since President Biden’s announcement that he will not seek reelection.
Just the News added:
The Romanian deal was included in one of the Oversight Committee’s bank records memorandums from May 2023, which showed a company connected to Hunter Biden received approximately a third of a $3 million payment from Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu’s Bladon Enterprises Limited. The rest of the money was split between his other partners, according to the bank records memo and the recent court filing.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers moved last month to have evidence of “alleged improper political influence” excluded from evidence in the trial arguing that it would unfairly prejudice the jury.
“The government does not intend to reference allegations at trial,” Weiss’ prosecutors responded a motion filed Wednesday. “Rather, the government will introduce the evidence described above, including that the defendant and Business Associate 1 received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation of G.P in Romania.”
Last year, IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who collaborated on the Hunter Biden investigation with the FBI, brought concerns to Congress about alleged “preferential treatment” by the Justice Department to avoid charges against the first son. Shapley’s initial letter to Congress claimed that DOJ officials were restricting prosecutor David Weiss’s ability to pursue charges.
In a July 2023 public hearing before the House Oversight Committee, Shapley testified that DOJ officials had concealed evidence from the IRS team, delayed crucial investigative steps for political reasons, and obstructed any investigation related to Joe Biden.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.