Trump says he has ‘nothing to do’ with probe into Hunter Biden’s taxes: 'Actually, I find it very sad to watch'
President Donald Trump, on Thursday, December 17, said that he has "nothing to do" with a federal investigation into President-elect Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden's taxes and foreign deals. The Republican leader made the statement on Twitter on Thursday morning and claimed that the accusations against him linked to the probe are "fake news." "I have NOTHING to do with the potential prosecution of Hunter Biden, or the Biden family," Trump wrote. "It is just more Fake News. Actually, I find it very sad to watch!"
I have NOTHING to do with the potential prosecution of Hunter Biden, or the Biden family. It is just more Fake News. Actually, I find it very sad to watch!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 17, 2020
Trump's denial came just weeks after Hunter revealed in an announcement that his "tax affairs" were being investigated, just weeks before his father's scheduled presidential inauguration on January 20. A source told Politico that federal investigators in Delaware and Washington DC were looking into money laundering claims and Hunter's foreign dealings. The investigation, according to a report by the New York Post, involves a laptop allegedly owned by Hunter, which allegedly contains documents detailing Hunter's business dealings with Ukraine and China. The Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI) is also reportedly probing his transactions with foreigners who may have posed counterintelligence concerns.
Trump's denial of accusations against him comes days after he was left enraged following reports that US Attorney General William Barr was aware of investigations into Biden's business dealings for months but worked to shield them from the public, The Wall Street Journal reported. Trump raised questions on why Barr didn't report the probe into Hunter before the elections, then continued to falsely declare he had "won the election anyway." Trump wrote on Twitter: "Why didn’t the Fake News Media, the FBI, and the DOJ report the Biden matter BEFORE the Election. Oh well, it’s OK, we won the Election anyway - 75,000,000 VOTES!!!" The Republican's reaction came after a report in The Wall Street Journal, on Thursday, December 10, claimed that Barr was aware of the allegations into Hunter's business dealings since spring and had also attempted to stop the probe from being made public.
Trump and other Republicans had urged Barr to pursue Hunter for months. The Journal quoted a source as saying that the attorney general warded of pressure from congressional Republicans who were aiming at information from the investigations. Barr's reported attempts to keep Hunter's probe from becoming public were in accordance with DOJ rules that restrict prosecutors from taking public investigative steps that could affect the outcome of an election.
Hunter, in a statement on December 9, had announced that he was under federal investigation over his taxes. Biden's transition office read out a statement, saying: "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." The investigation reportedly began in 2018 but a new round of subpoenas was issued on Tuesday, December 8, including one to Hunter, according to the Associated Press. The US Attorney General had publicly announced that the president-elect was not under investigation in the case and no wrongdoing has been alleged on his part. Biden's transition team also released a statement, showing the Democrat leader was standing by Hunter and was "proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger."
