Sex, drugs, luxury, just no taxes: the new five-count indictment against Hunter Biden Venezuela: arrest warrants for referendum conspiracy

In the middle of the US election campaign, President Joe Biden is confronted with a new accusation against his son Hunter – and with the publication of juicy details from his past. On Thursday evening (local time), Hunter Biden was charged in a second case: this time for tax crimes.

The judiciary accuses the 53-year-old of not paying his federal taxes due for years, instead spending millions on an “extravagant lifestyle.” The indictment, which was published on Thursday evening, lists in detail delicate expenses, such as sex clubs, drugs and women.

The accusations

In concrete terms, it covers the years 2016 to mid-October 2020 – that is, until shortly before Joe Biden was elected president. During this time, Hunter Biden made more than $7 million in revenue, according to the 56-page indictment. However, the suspect decided not to pay taxes, but to use the money for other things: ‘for drugs, hostesses and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items of a personal nature, in short: for everything except for his taxes .”

Various charges are cited: failure to pay taxes, tax evasion and filing false tax documents.

Opaque income

The indictment states exactly what Hunter Biden earned during those years, including through a lucrative position at the Ukrainian gas company Burisma – at a time when Joe Biden was responsible for Ukraine as vice president. This has already earned Joe Biden negative headlines, uncomfortable questions and investigations in Parliament. But Hunter Biden’s other opaque foreign transactions, such as in China, are also mentioned in the indictment. The same goes for a “personal friend’s” payments worth $1.2 million over several months in 2020.

Wild editions

Above all, the painstaking compilation of Hunter Biden’s spending during those years is particularly challenging. A few items from 2018 alone: ​​$383,548 for payments to “several women,” $100,330 for “adult entertainment,” $772,548 in ATM withdrawals, $151,459 for clothing and accessories.

In several cases, Hunter Biden billed payments to women he had romantic or sexual relationships with as salary. He also recorded other items as ‘business expenses’, such as $10,000 for a sex club membership, payments to strippers, plane tickets for an ‘exotic dancer’ or the rental of a Lamborghini. This also included countless nights in expensive hotels, which he himself described in his memoirs as the scene of alcohol and drug orgies.

In the book, published in 2021, Hunter impressively and with astonishing candor recounted his past as an alcoholic and junkie, as well as other private escapades. The autobiography has already gotten him into legal trouble elsewhere: over a weapons purchase in 2018, at a time when, according to his memoirs, he was still deep in the drug swamp.

The other load

In September, charges were filed against Hunter Biden in the state of Delaware. In the case, he is accused of providing false information when purchasing the gun and knowingly concealing his drug addiction – a violation of the gun law. The new complaint about the tax allegations, which is now being heard by a court in the state of California, where Hunter Biden lives, has now been added.

The 53-year-old has long been in the crosshairs of the American legal system. For years he was under investigation for possible tax crimes. In June, Delaware prosecutors finally released formal charges against the president’s son for violating gun and tax laws. At the time, it initially seemed that he would be able to avoid a trial in both cases through a legal deal with the Public Prosecution Service. But the agreement fell through during a court hearing.

And shortly afterwards, US Attorney General Merrick Garland, given the delicate situation, appointed a special investigator for Hunter Biden: the prosecutor David Weiss, who was already investigating, was given additional powers and moved the investigation forward. The Justice Department said Thursday that the investigation is continuing. Hunter Biden could be threatened with additional legal trouble.

The consequences for the election year

For the son of a sitting president to be indicted is highly unusual, if not unprecedented. The fact that juicier details beyond the memoir are coming to light is an added burden for Joe Biden in the middle of the election campaign. Also because the Democrat likes to set himself as an example of integrity and decency.

Above all, it adds another remarkable twist to an election year that will now be like no other: in the coming year, it will not only be the former US president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump who wants to challenge Joe Biden, who will participate in the election campaign, must face various legal proceedings due to several serious allegations. The son of the incumbent president will also have to appear in court, in parallel with his father’s re-election campaign. Both have never existed like this before.

The charges against Hunter Biden provide the president’s political opponents with ample material for political attacks. The Republicans in the House of Representatives will probably also try to use this to their advantage: they have started investigations into a possible impeachment procedure against Joe Biden for alleged involvement in his son’s affairs. As things stand now, the plan has no chance of success, but it could still cause disruption for the Democrat in the election year. (sda/dpa)