(Headline USA) Allies of Hunter Biden have reportedly discussed setting up a legal defense fund for him amid the federal investigation into his shady foreign business deals and taxes, according to the Washington Post.
Hunter—the only surviving son of President Joe Biden—has had multiple attorneys over the past several years, but he has struggled to pay them all due to dwindling financial resources, the report revealed.
Sources close to the situation estimated that Hunter’s legal debt could reach into the millions of dollars—an amount that is likely to continue going up as the House GOP ramps up its own probes into the Biden family’s finances.
Hunter—who was believed to have re-entered rehab last year for his drug addictions—doesn’t have a steady source of income, despite his having taken up residence in a posh Malibu mansion, and the lucrative business deals he once relied on have dried up under continued public scrutiny.
He’s instead tried to enter into the art industry, working with art dealers to sell paintings for a massive sum, as much as $500,000 a painting in some cases.
But some potential buyers have already reneged on their purchases due to potential blowback from congressional investigators. Just last week, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to a Soho gallery owner asking for information on who has purchased Hunter’s paintings.
Forming a legal-defense fund is one proposed solution for Hunter’s financial troubles, especially since there are few federal regulations regarding defense funds.
Former President Bill Clinton relied on a legal-defense fund during his second term for representation in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit, the Whitewater investigation and an impeachment inquiry.
However, it is still not clear who would run Hunter’s legal-defense fund, or what sorts of parameters there would be.
Clinton’s defense fund, for example, capped voluntary donations at $10,000 a year and barred donations from lobbyists, government employees and noncitizens. The Clinton fund also disclosed the names of each of its donors.
