|
The U.S. Department of Justice made the allegation in a
Wednesday filing in Los Angeles federal court, where U.S.
President Joe Biden's son faces a scheduled Sept. 9 trial over
tax evasion charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
ABC said the claim stems from Hunter Biden's work for Gabriel
Popoviciu, a wealthy Romanian identified as "G.P." in the
filing, and who prosecutors say hired Hunter Biden for legal
work in late 2015 when Joe Biden was U.S. vice president.
Reuters could not independently verify that "G.P." is Popoviciu.
Lawyers for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to requests
for comment. Prosecutors did not immediately respond to similar
requests. The White House declined to comment. Popoviciu could
not immediately be located outside business hours.
In the filing, prosecutors said they plan to present evidence
that Hunter Biden and a business associate "received
compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to
influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United
States to investigate the Romanian investigation of G.P. in
Romania."
Hunter Biden and the business associate "were concerned that
lobbying work might cause political ramifications for the
defendant's father," and Hunter Biden wanted to conceal the
"true nature" of his work for G.P., prosecutors added.
G.P. faced bribery charges in Romania, the filing said.
A federal grand jury charged Hunter Biden last December with
failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019,
while spending millions of dollars on drugs and various
high-ticket items.
The president's son was also charged with evading the assessment
of taxes for the 2018 tax year when he filed false returns. He
faces three felony charges and additional misdemeanor counts.
Separately, Hunter Biden was convicted in June by a Wilmington,
Delaware, jury of lying about illegal drug use when he bought a
handgun in 2018. He has not yet been sentenced.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting
by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Noeleen
Walder and Michael Perry)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
