(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The Department of Justice prosecutors say that Hunter Biden was paid by a Romanian oligarch to “influence U.S. policy and public opinion” when his father, Joe Biden, was vice president.
Fox News reported that Special Counsel David Weiss filed the documents in the Central District of California on Aug. 7, 2024. They pertain to Hunter Biden’s tax trial in California.
The allegations are the closest prosecutors have come to tying Joe to Hunter’s overseas business dealings that may have accelerated after the former dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu is expected to testify against Hunter in the trial, which will begin on Sept. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. Weiss noted in the filings that Hunter had “entered into an oral agreement” in 2015 to help Popoviciu contest bribery charges in Romania.
At trial, prosecutors will “introduce the evidence described above, including that [Hunter Biden] and Business Associate 1 received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation of [Popoviciu] in Romania.”
Weiss added that Hunter and his business associate “were concerned that lobbying work might cause political ramifications for [Hunter Biden’s] father [Joe Biden].”
The filing is the first to go into greater detail about Hunter’s international business affairs.
“Business Associate 1 and [Popoviciu] signed a ‘Management Services Agreement’ where Business Associate 1’s legal entity would purportedly provide management services to real estate properties in Romania, but that was not actually what [Popoviciu] was paying for,” the document stated.
Weiss also wrote that Hunter’s counsel had asked the court to dismiss allegations that he could have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
“The government does not intend to reference allegations that the defendant violated FARA or improperly coordinated with the Obama Administration. However… the government will introduce evidence that Business Associate 1 structured a business relationship in an effort to avoid having to register as a foreign agent and that the defendant and his business partners did reach out to government officials, specifically the United States Department of State,” he wrote.
Prosecutors said that, between November 2015 and 2017, Hunter and two business associates split more than $3 million in payments from Popoviciu.
Hunter is charged with failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 and filing false tax returns. It was also reported that he spent millions of dollars in funds on drugs, escorts, luxury cars and other high-priced items. He has since paid the taxes.
Hunter is charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors in the tax case.
