Questions remain over scope of Hunter Biden investigation
Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich joins 'Special Report' from Wilmington, Del. with the latest on the Biden transition.
The federal investigation into Hunter Biden's "tax affairs" is "active and ongoing," two sources familiar with the status of the probe told Fox News.
The sources told Fox News that those involved in the investigation, which is being run out of the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware, are "treating it seriously."
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And as President Biden and members of his administration vowed, sources told Fox News that the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware "has not heard from the White House" or the president’s nominee for attorney general, Judge Merrick Garland.
Last week, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Garland confirmed that he has not discussed the investigation with the president, adding that President Biden "has made abundantly clear" in his public statements "before and after my nomination" that decisions about prosecutions would be left to the Justice Department.
"That was the reason that I was willing to take on this job," Garland said. "So the answer is no."
In December, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president would not discuss any investigation related to Hunter Biden with anyone he was considering for attorney general.
Garland, during the hearing, also said he had heard the investigation involving Hunter Biden was "proceeding discreetly."
GARLAND SAYS HE HAS NOT DISCUSSED THE HUNTER BIDEN CASE WITH THE PRESIDENT
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, who has oversight of the federal tax investigation, was asked to stay on in his role after the Biden administration in early February asked that all Trump-appointed federal prosecutors resign by the end of the month.
The president’s son confirmed he was under federal investigation for his "tax affairs" in December.
At the time, a well-placed government source told Fox News that Hunter Biden is a subject/target of the grand jury investigation. According to the source, a "target" means that there is a "high probability that person committed a crime," while a "subject" is someone you "don't know for sure" has committed a crime.
The source also told Fox News that this investigation was predicated, in part, by Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions.
Another source familiar with the investigation told Fox News that the SARs were regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."
The investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter, began in 2018.
An attorney for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Hunter Biden has maintained he did nothing wrong. In his December statement making the investigation public, Hunter Biden said he takes "this matter very seriously" and is "confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors."
Meanwhile, U.S. attorneys, except for Weiss, have begun transitioning out of their roles.
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Special Counsel John Durham, who was the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, resigned from his post last week but will continue his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe as special counsel.
And acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin on Wednesday is leaving his post and transitioning to a role to continue the "overall supervision" of the Capitol riot investigation "at the request of" the Justice Department. Former U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips will replace Sherwin as acting U.S. attorney for D.C.
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