Everybody should be ‘frightened’ of Big Tech censoring Hunter Biden story: Ian Prior
The former Department of Justice deputy director of public affairs reacts on ‘America’s Newsroom’ to Hunter Biden being under federal investigation.
President-elect Joe Biden has not said whether he’ll commit to keeping the Delaware U.S. attorney investigating Hunter Biden in his position in the new administration.
It’s standard for new presidents to ask for the resignation of all U.S. attorneys upon entering office, but given the conflict of interest, Fox News repeatedly asked the Biden transition team whether the president-elect would keep David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, in his role until the investigation into Biden’s son’s taxes was complete. The Biden team did not respond.
Hunter Biden confirmed Wednesday his “tax affairs” were under investigation in Delaware.
“I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” Hunter Biden said in a statement. “I take this matter very seriously but I am 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.”
HUNTER BIDEN 'TAX AFFAIRS' UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION; LINKS TO CHINA EMERGE, SOURCES SAY
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 said President-elect Biden is not a subject of any grand jury investigation at this time.
The source also tells Fox News that this investigation was predicated, in part, by Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions.
Another source familiar with the investigation tells Fox News that the SARs were regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."
A Treasury Department official, who did not comment on the investigation, spoke broadly about SARs, telling Fox News that SARs are filed by financial institutions "if there is something out of the ordinary about a particular transaction."
LAPTOP CONNECTED TO HUNTER BIDEN LINKED TO FBI MONEY LAUNDERING PROBE
The official told Fox News that the mere filing of a SAR does not mean there has been a criminal act, or violation of regulations, but instead, flags that a transaction is "out of the ordinary" for the customer. The official noted, though, that a SAR could be part of a money laundering or tax investigation.
The investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter, began in 2018. It predates Attorney General Bill Barr, who was confirmed in 2019.
The inquiry could also weigh on Biden’s potential pick for attorney general, after Biden has promised to restore the Justice Department’s independence from the White House. Some have called on Biden to appoint a special counsel to make any future decisions regarding his son, to distance both the White House and attorney general.
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"This is a golden opportunity, actually, for Joe Biden to demonstrate that partisan politics will not have a role in these kinds of decisions," Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, told USA Today. "Obviously, you never want to see a family member in trouble, but this is way for Joe Biden to say, 'I'm not the one who should be making any decisions (related to his son's case) and neither should anyone, including the attorney general, who reports to me.' "
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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