OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Department of Justice is nearing a decision over whether to charge first son Hunter Biden following lengthy investigations into potential crimes over taxes and a gun purchase.
The decision over whether or not to proceed comes after federal prosecutors met last week with attorneys for Hunter Biden, the New York Post reported.
Attorneys representing Hunter huddled with prosecutors from the US Attorney from Delaware David Weiss in his office in Washington to discuss the ongoing investigation that has spanned two presidential administrations and lasted for over four years.
Insiders familiar with the matter who spoke to The Washington Post said that Weiss is close to determining whether he will pursue charges against Hunter on felony and misdemeanor tax offenses, as well as lying on a federal gun purchasing form, or drop the case entirely.
Word of a charging decision comes after “FBI investigators reportedly expressed ‘growing frustration’ over the pace of the inquiry, and an IRS whistleblower came forward to allege Hunter has received ‘preferential treatment’ under the auspices of Attorney General Merrick Garland,'” The Post noted.
On Tuesday, Garland directed reporters to direct inquiries about the investigation to Weiss’s office and reaffirmed his previous statements to Congress that there were no political motives behind any delays in the Hunter investigation. Notably, Garland was not present at the meeting between Hunter’s lawyers and the Delaware prosecutor in Washington, The Post added.
“It is also unclear how Hunter’s abandoned laptop has aided the probe after the FBI seized its hard drive in late 2019,” the outlet noted further.
Hunter has been seen by his father’s side in recent weeks, including during a trip to Ireland where President Joe Biden publicly praised his son and said he was “proud” of him.
Isn’t it ironic that the Department of Justice chose yesterday to near the end of their investigation into Hunter Biden to make their decision whether or not to charge him?
It’s a slap in the face to the American people likely designed to lock down evidence @GOPOversight needs. pic.twitter.com/yspJxsro50
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) May 4, 2023
The evidence against Joe Biden being complicit and profiting from Hunter Biden’s corrupt business deals is mounting! pic.twitter.com/Olz05zyso2
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 4, 2023
Hunter Biden is making millions of dollars because of DADDY privilege.
I know this, he knows this, and the American people know this. pic.twitter.com/4L3yCHYeZJ
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) May 4, 2023
BREAKING: Hunter Biden's Child Support Showdown: Baby Mama Lunden Roberts Resists Reduction In Child Support Payments. Why must this little girl suffer? Why?
Her legal team has submitted a motion to an Arkansas court, insisting on continued payments of $20,000 per month so Navy… pic.twitter.com/t1BQBFPe0q
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) May 3, 2023
The tax investigation into Hunter’s international business dealings with Chinese and Ukrainian entities began in 2018, examining any potential violations of tax and money laundering laws. At the same time, a separate investigation into Hunter’s possession of a firearm was launched after his former sister-in-law and lover, Hallie Biden, disposed of his handgun in a dumpster behind a small grocer in Delaware, prompting a search by Secret Service agents and the disclosure of its sale to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to a gun purchase form from October 2018, Hunter answered “no” to the question, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”
In previous federal cases, felony charges for lying on a gun form have been brought, as seen in the case of rapper Kodak Black. He received a three-year prison sentence in 2019 for falsely purchasing four guns at a Miami store.
Hunter was discharged from the Navy Reserve in 2013 after testing positive for cocaine. In his memoir “Beautiful Things,” Hunter acknowledged that he was abusing crack at the time of the lost gun incident.
Meanwhile, GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who have been investigating alleged corruption within the Biden family for several years, have been intensifying their efforts in recent weeks. They are seeking more information after Facebook and Twitter somewhat limited the spread of the explosive revelations about Hunter’s laptop in October 2020.
Grassley and Johnson have sent a letter to Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg noting that in October 2020, “when the New York Post published articles based on evidence from Hunter Biden’s laptop, many news and social media organizations inappropriately rushed to censor and discredit the initial reporting and falsely labeled it as ‘disinformation.’
In the years since, mainstream media outlets that initially cast doubt on the veracity of the laptop’s contents, hinting it could be “Russian disinformation,” finally admitted that the materials gleaned from the laptop were in fact real.
“Congress and the American people require clarity with respect to the extent the FBI communicated with Facebook during the 2020 election about Hunter Biden-related information,” they wrote.