Hunter Biden has raised eyebrows with some of his business dealings. In December of 2020, Hunter Biden acknowledged being investigated by federal prosecutors in Delaware for potential tax violations.
“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,” he said in a statement.
Hunter has also been accused of using his father’s name and title to earn positions on financial boards in China and in Ukraine.
In May 2014, weeks after his father had become the public face of the Obama Administration’s policy in Ukraine, Hunter Biden joined the board of a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma. He was paid $50,000 a month for his work there. He had no experience in Ukraine or energy. Burisma said he was placed on the board to help with “transparency, corporate governance, and responsibility, International expansion and other priorities.”
However, sources told the Associated Press it was his board position in China that landed him in tax trouble. It started in 2013, when Hunter Biden accompanied his then-Vice President dad on an official trip to Beijing.
There, Hunter Biden met with a Chinese investment banker, telling the New Yorker later that it was “just for a cup of coffee.”
Yet 12 days later, public records show that same banker offered Hunter Biden a position on the board of his new equity fund and a 10% stake in the company.
In October 2019, during an interview with ABC News, Hunter Biden said he used “poor judgement” in his business dealings overseas, creating problems for his father. But he also said he didn’t do anything illegal.
How does all of this tie back to Joe Biden? So far it doesn’t.
Biden and his transition office said in a statement that the President is “deeply proud of my son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”
Hunter is far from the first presidential family member to bring headaches to dad. Saturday Evening Post archivist Jeff Nilsson point out he’s just one of many presidential children whose behavior has ruffled feathers.
