The Justice Department began investigating Hunter Biden’s taxes back in 2018, but reportedly paused that investigation while Hunter’s father, Joe Biden, was running for president, citing a DOJ policy against “overt” action that might impact the election.
Of course, such a policy didn’t seem to stop the FBI from pursuing a baseless investigation against President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, nor did it stop the bureau from investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the investigation existed, even though numerous media outlets refused to report on Hunter Biden’s Ukraine and Chinese dealings ahead of the election, claiming, without evidence, the accusations were part of a Russian disinformation campaign. The investigation was launched long before Joe Biden announced his bid for the presidency but was stopped at some point.
“Investigators did not reach out until recently because of Justice Department practice against taking overt investigative actions in the run-up to an election, one of the people said. The people familiar with the investigation insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe,” the AP reported.
Hunter himself claimed he only learned about the probe on Tuesday, releasing a statement that prompted media outlets to finally acknowledge some of his shady dealings.
“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 said in a statement on Wednesday.
When the New York Post in October first broke the story that a laptop containing damaging emails regarding Hunter’s business dealings, the news outlets and social media platforms suppressed the story. Facebook and Twitter either blocked or reduced the distribution of links to the story, published by a major news outlet. Other news agencies only reported a baseless angle claiming the story had been planted by Russia to undermine Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. The outlets ran with that narrative despite no evidence to support it.
The Post story was accurate and has been repeatedly proven to be accurate. The DOJ investigation once again shows that Hunter Biden’s finances and business dealings are at the very least suspicious.
“It isn’t clear which entities or business dealings might be tied up in the probe, though the person with knowledge of the matter said at least some of focus was on his past work in China. Federal investigators served a round of subpoenas on Tuesday, including one for Hunter Biden, according to another person familiar with the investigation,” the AP reported.
The outlet also noted that news of the investigation comes “at a politically delicate time for the president-elect, who is weighing his choice to lead an agency that is actively investigating his son.”
The DOJ’s alleged policy on avoiding “overt” investigations that could change the outcome of the election seems especially suspicious given how the FBI investigated Trump’s 2016 campaign despite numerous red flags suggesting the allegations were baseless. Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith even altered an email to keep the investigation going.
The same could be said of the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s email server. The investigation was opened when it was clear Clinton would be the 2016 Democratic nominee. Then-FBI Director James Comey held a press conference detailing all the ways Clinton broke the law but declined to criminally prosecute. Comey then publicly reopened the investigation just weeks ahead of the 2016 election.