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DOJ Subpoena Reportedly Requests Info on Hunter Biden’s Ukraine Dealings

© AP Photo / Nick WassThis Jan. 30, 2010 file photo shows Hunter Biden, right, son of Vice President Joe Biden, center, talking with President Barack Obama, and the vice president Joe Biden during a college basketball game in Washington. Biden's youngest son Hunter is joining the Navy. The Navy says the attorney and former Washington lobbyist was selected to be commissioned into the Navy Reserve as a public affairs officer. Because he is 42, he needed a special waiver to be accepted, but that is not uncommon. He is one of seven candidates recommended for a direct commission for public affairs.
This Jan. 30, 2010 file photo shows Hunter Biden, right, son of Vice President Joe Biden, center, talking with President Barack Obama, and the vice president Joe Biden during a college basketball game in Washington.  Biden's youngest son Hunter is joining the Navy. The Navy says the attorney and former Washington lobbyist was selected to be commissioned into the Navy Reserve as a public affairs officer. Because he is 42, he needed a special waiver to be accepted, but that is not uncommon. He is one of seven candidates recommended for a direct commission for public affairs.  - Sputnik International
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On Saturday, President Donald Trump blasted Attorney General Bill Barr for keeping silent on the alleged corruption of Hunter Biden, son of Democratic president-elect Joe Biden. Republicans accuse Biden Jr. of several crimes, including being involved in ‘pay-to-play’ schemes during his father’s tenure as vice president.

The Justice Department has handed Hunter Biden a subpoena requesting information about his work with over two dozen entities, including Burisma – the Ukrainian gas company at the heart of an alleged Biden “pay-to-play” scheme and Trump's impeachment saga. The Associated Press reported the claims, citing a person said to be close to the investigation.

The broad-ranging subpoena, said to have been issued Tuesday, describes the probe as a “wide-angle lens” looking at the junior Biden’s international dealings. Along with Burisma, the probe, begun in 2018, asks Biden to hand over information related to his Chinese business dealings. Two persons familiar with the matter told AP that the investigation has looked into alleged money laundering activities.

Hunter Biden revealed on Wednesday that the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware has launched a probe into his taxes. He said he was taking it seriously, but that he was confident he would be cleared of any wrongdoing.

On Saturday, Donald Trump slammed Bill Barr and the Justice Department for their lack of action over the investigation. The President said Barr should reveal more information about Hunter’s activities in the run-up to the 2020 vote, suggesting that “If Biden gets in, nothing will happen to Hunter or Joe” and the investigation will be “killed” by the incoming president's team. Calling Barr a “big disappointment,” Trump also quoted a tweet by radio host Todd Starnes insinuating that the attorney general should be fired immediately.

The Biden 'Pay-to-Play' Saga

The Hunter Biden saga haunted his father for much of the 2020 election cycle – it was also the impetus for the Democratic-led effort to impeach Trump from late 2019. Democrats accused the President of seeking to illegally dig up dirt on Biden Sr. by requesting that Ukraine restart its investigation into Hunter’s work for the Burisma energy company, for which he was  given a “no-show” $50,000 a month job, ostensibly in exchange for access to the Vice President, in 2014. The Bidens vocally denied any wrongdoing, although Biden Sr. has also been caught on camera openly bragging about firing the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating his son and threatening to withhold a $1 billion US loan to Ukraine if Kiev failed drop the case.


The Biden corruption scandal gained fresh impetus in October, when the New York Post published an article detailing alleged evidence found on Biden’s laptop, including correspondence with foreign officials and businesspeople indicating that he was arranging meetings with his father in exchange for cash. The “pay-to-play” scheme – reportedly also involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – is highly illegal and punishable by heavy fines and potential jail time.

Most mainstream US media ignored the Biden laptop story ahead of the 3 November vote, while Facebook and Twitter limited its sharing.

On Thursday, Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton called for a special counsel to be appointed to investigate the latest accusations of financial crimes by Hunter Biden, before Joe Biden is inaugurated as president and is given the power to fire the investigators probing his family.

President Trump still refuses to accept defeat in the 2020 election, accusing his opponents of large-scale voter fraud in key battleground states. On Monday, members of the Electoral College will formally convene to choose the winner of the vote. An inauguration ceremony will be held on 20 January, 2021.

 

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