FBI reportedly sees ‘growing frustration’ that Hunter Biden still uncharged
WASHINGTON — There is “growing frustration” within the FBI about the amount of time prosecutors are spending weighing possible criminal charges against first son Hunter Biden for alleged tax evasion and lying about his drug use on a gun purchase form, according to a new report.
NBC News reported on investigators’ mounting exasperation days after an IRS whistleblower who supervised the tax probe since early 2020 contacted Congress through an attorney, alleging a cover-up in the case.
NBC, citing two sources, reported that the FBI — whose Baltimore field office has led the Hunter Biden investigation — “finished the bulk of their work on the case about a year ago.”
One source added that the IRS finished its investigation of the first son more than a year ago.
The US Attorney’s Office in Delaware reportedly has been reviewing four possible charges: two misdemeanor counts of failing to file taxes, a felony count of evading taxes relating to a business expense, and the gun form charge.
The report follows the IRS whistleblower informing Congress through his lawyer Mark Lytle that he wants to come forward to expose “preferential treatment” in the case — after already filing complaints with the Treasury and Justice departments’ watchdogs.
Lytle wrote Wednesday that his client can also expose false statements to Congress by a “senior political appointee.”
The Post reported Thursday that the reference is to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who twice assured senators that Delaware US Attorney David Weiss has unilateral authority to bring charges in the case.
Weiss is a Trump administration holdover who was recommended to his post in 2017 by Delaware’s two Democratic senators.
Republicans had questioned Garland about whether Weiss truly was able to bring a case without the approval of other officials for crimes that may have occurred outside Delaware.
It’s unclear whether authorities are still considering charges against Hunter Biden for money laundering and failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The Justice Department has been increasing its rate of FARA prosecutions in recent years.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, for example, was sentenced in 2018 to 60 months in prison specifically for FARA violations related to his work in Ukraine, plus another 30 months for other charges including tax and bank fraud and witness tampering.
NBC reported that the investigation of Hunter’s conduct began in 2018 — well before a computer repairman provided the bureau with the now-53-year-old’s abandoned laptop in late 2019, which contained documents implicating President Biden in far-flung international business dealings during and after his vice presidency.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is investigating Joe Biden’s role in Hunter and first brother James Biden’s business dealings in China, Mexico, Ukraine and other countries.
The White House, FBI, Justice Department and Hunter Biden’s legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
