Did Hunter Biden pay taxes on his influence operations?

 Jonathon Turley:

From Hunter Biden’s laptop to influence peddling to financial dealings, the media has presented a fairly unified front dismissing allegations and blacking out coverage. As I previously wrote, the Biden family made an elephant disappear on stage and the media was invested in the trick. The media has largely allowed President Joe Biden to repeat without challenge that that his son did “nothing wrong” . . . despite many of us writing for years that what he did was very wrong indeed. Yet, it is becoming increasingly hard to spin out of this scandal as David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware, continues to call people before a federal grand jury to testify on Hunter Biden.

For over two years, Weiss has been investigating tax and financial issues connected to Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings. Biden has engaged in some of the most open and raw influence peddling schemes in history. That itself is “wrong,” to use his father’s standard, but not necessarily criminal. The Biden family has long been accused of such influence peddling generating millions in windfall payments. Even diplomats complained that his actions during the Obama/Biden Administration were setting back anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine.

The problem is not that Hunter Biden allegedly shook down foreign countries and companies for millions. The problem is that he may not have reported or paid taxes on all of that largess.

Weiss is calling witnesses to testify on Hunter’s lavish lifestyle and spending habits, including a former stripper who Hunter impregnated. Lunden Roberts spent years fighting to get child support, even as Joe Biden was running for president. A court finally forced Hunter to support his child.

Also called was ex-girlfriend, lingerie entrepreneur Zoe Kestan. She testified for five hours on Tuesday, the New York Post reported. Kestan reportedly detailed how Hunter would withdraw thousands of dollars and spend wildly during their relationship.

What is striking about these witnesses is that they are the type of witnesses that poison both grand juries and trial juries against a defendant. Such lavish spending details were used by the Justice Department against figures like Paul Manafort. More importantly, the testimony appears directed at showing that Hunter had far greater income than reported. That is a curious effort if Biden has “come clean” on simple reporting errors for taxes.

None of this means that Biden will clearly be indicted. Moreover, Attorney General Merrick Garland has thus far refused to appoint a Special Counsel despite the clear basis for such an appointment.

Weiss clearly has Hunter’s laptop, which details millions in foreign payments as well as lavish gifts and expense accounts. What is not known is whether Weiss has pursued other possible crimes, including potentially criminal financial transactions or being an unregistered foreign agent. Much depends on the scope of the investigation. The uncertainty is precisely why some of us have called for a special counsel. President Biden’s family is not only implicated in these dealings but shared accounts with President Biden are discussed in emails.
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During the Biden binges, it is not clear that Hunter was ever sober enough to file his taxes with any accuracy.   I suspect Weiss may be able to make a case.