Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, is under investigation for “tax affairs,” Hunter Biden confirmed to CNBC.
“I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” Biden told the outlet in a statement. “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 Biden’s foreign business ties became a central issue in his father’s campaign, especially after the elder Biden was implicated in one such business deal with a Chinese energy executive by one of Hunter’s former business partners, Tony Bobulinski.
Joe Biden’s campaign responded to the announcement in a statement, telling CNBC: “President-elect Biden is deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”
In October, Bobulinski went public with allegations that Joe Biden was meant to be a benefactor in a business deal involving Hunter Biden and Ye Jianming, the former chairman of the now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy. In a public statement, Bobulinski said:
What I am outlining is fact. I know it is fact because I lived it. I am the CEO of Sinohawk Holdings which was a partnership between the Chinese operating through CEFC/Chairman Ye and the Biden family. I was brought into the company to be the CEO by James Gilliar and Hunter Biden. The reference to “the Big Guy” in the much publicized May 13, 2017 email is in fact a reference to Joe Biden. The other “JB” referenced in that email is Jim Biden, Joe’s brother.
Hunter Biden called his dad “the Big Guy” or “my Chairman,” and frequently referenced asking him for his sign-off or advice on various potential deals that we were discussing. I’ve seen Vice President Biden saying he never talked to Hunter about his business. I’ve seen firsthand that that’s not true, because it wasn’t just Hunter’s business, they said they were putting the Biden family name and its legacy on the line.
I realized the Chinese were not really focused on a healthy financial ROI. They were looking at this as a political or influence investment. Once I realized that Hunter wanted to use the company as his personal piggy bank by just taking money out of it as soon as it came from the Chinese, I took steps to prevent that from happening.
Bobulinski’s allegations and other stories revolving around Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings were suppressed by the media and big tech companies such as Twitter and Facebook in the run-up to the election.
On Twitter, the taxpayer-funded outlet NPR claimed that it would not cover explosive stories surrounding Hunter Biden because “we don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions.”
Related: Major Networks Follow Facebook, Twitter Lead Ignoring Hunter Biden Scandal