Hunter Biden says his tax affairs are under investigation. The president-elect’s son says he is “confident” the probe by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware will find no wrongdoing.
Froma Harrop is a syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and contributor to CNN Opinion. Follow her on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached by email at: [email protected].
A few things to unpack here. First, inquiries into possible tax fraud should be welcome. When some people cheat on their taxes, those who don’t have to cover for them.
At the same time, Joe Biden’s 50-year-old son is not Joe. Any tax issues he has are his, not his father’s.
President Donald Trump has tried mightily to link Hunter’s business dealings with Chinese and European tycoons to Joe, and the investigations have come up empty. He’d undoubtedly love to tie Hunter’s tax issues into one public-confusing package.
Attorney General William Barr has rejected Trump’s demand for a special counsel to investigate Hunter. He says that scrutiny of Hunter’s activities is “being handled responsibly and professionally.” Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, which has been scouring Hunter’s business ventures, concluded, “None of the Journal’s reporting found that Joe Biden was involved in his son’s business activities.” The tax probe doesn’t implicate Joe either.
All this said, it was not OK that Hunter used his powerful political name to rake in cash from foreign tycoons. It was not OK that he used his family ties to score a discounted stake in a Chinese private equity venture or various lucrative consulting deals. Or that he sold himself as the guy who could grease entry into the Washington power structure.
