Hunter Biden is accused by prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’ office of accepting payments from a Romanian businessman, Gabriel Popoviciu, to influence U.S. government agencies while his father, Joe Biden, was vice president.
The prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden was hired for legal work by Popoviciu in late 2015, who was facing corruption charges in Romania at the time.
Driving the news: The special counsel’s claim, made in a court filing for Hunter Biden’s federal tax case, suggests that the president’s son and his business associate received compensation from the Romanian businessman to influence U.S. policy and public opinion, concealing the true nature of the work performed.
- Prosecutors stated that Hunter Biden and his partners received over $3 million in payments from Popoviciu between November 2015 and 2017 for their lobbying efforts.
State of play: Hunter Biden is currently facing three felony tax charges and additional misdemeanors for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2020.
- However, the back taxes and penalties were reportedly paid in full by a third party, identified as Hunter Biden’s attorney and confidant, Kevin Morris.
- The trial for Hunter Biden’s tax case, scheduled to take place in California, is set to begin in early September.
