Key events
Hunter Biden’s legal and political problems are connected to his drug use and his quest for business deals in foreign countries. Now they’re at the center of the impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, as well as the federal prosecution of Hunter and his counteroffensive of lawsuits against those involved in helping the GOP make their case. Last week, the Guardian’s Mary Yang put together a recap of the complicated saga, including the IRS whistleblower allegations that are at the center of the lawsuit he filed against the tax agency today:
Federal prosecutors indicted Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, over illegally possessing a firearm in Delaware on Thursday. The indictment comes a month after the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, appointed the US attorney David Weiss, a Trump nominee, to oversee the investigation as special counsel.
Hunter Biden has been at the center of a years-long investigation into his tax affairs that was set to close with a guilty plea. But that plea deal fell apart at a Delaware courthouse after the Trump-appointed judge said she could not agree to the agreement, which ensured Biden would avoid jail time in a separate case of illegally possessing a gun while using drugs.
Amid the controversy, the president has repeatedly said he supports his son and Hunter has been seen regularly at family events. Asked if President Biden would pardon his son in the event of any conviction, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters: “No.”
But the younger Biden has been embroiled in a list of unrelated controversies for years, including his overseas dealings and struggles with addiction, which ex-President Trump and his allies have regularly sought to use as fodder for attacks.
Here’s a comprehensive timeline of the moments that have propelled Hunter Biden into the limelight:
Hunter Biden sues IRS over disclosures of tax information
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Hunter Biden has filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, the Associated Press reports, alleging that the tax authority released his information illegally. The suit targets the actions of two agents who claimed to be whistleblowers and gave interviews to Congress and others about the long-running investigation into his business dealings, alleging those actions violated Biden’s right to privacy. Biden is seeking $1,000 in damages per unauthorized disclosure of his personal information, attorneys fees and the release of all documents related to the case. Last week, Hunter Biden was indicted on gun charges related to lying about his drug use while purchasing a firearm, a development that came about after a plea deal intended to resolve the federal investigation into his conduct collapsed. The same week, Republican speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced the chamber would begin an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden over the long-running corruption allegations against Hunter, despite Republicans having neither definitive proof, nor necessarily the votes (yet) to successfully impeach the president.
Here’s what else is going on today:
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Biden is heading to New York City for fundraisers ahead of an appearance at the United Nations General Assembly and meetings with foreign leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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McCarthy and the House Republicans continue to squabble over an agreement to fund the government ahead of an end-of-the-month deadline after which it will shut down.
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One conservative House Republican does not think impeaching Biden is a good idea.