According to a report released on Tuesday, allies of Hunter Biden have held preliminary discussions about establishing a legal defense fund to aid the first son as Republicans intensify congressional investigations into his business relationships and the federal investigation into his taxes continues.
In recent years, a number of attorneys have represented Hunter, 52, and new ones have been added as his team seeks new legal methods, but the Biden scion has struggled to pay them all owing to diminishing financial resources, according to the Washington Post.
It is unknown how much the first son owes in legal expenses because a portion of the job was performed pro gratis.
Others with knowledge of the situation, however, assert that Hunter’s debt might be in the millions of dollars, and this sum is expected to increase when the House GOP opens its investigations.
According to the story, the son of President Biden has no reliable source of income, and the once rich rewards from his international business partnerships have dried up due to ongoing public scrutiny.
In a series of October 2020 articles, The Washington Post disclosed Hunter Biden’s dubious ties to Ukraine and China.
While the first son is pursuing a career as an artist and has apparently sold one painting for $500,000, other pieces of his artwork have not fetched nearly as much, according to a report.
In addition, a number of prospective purchasers have withdrawn their offers due to the congressional investigations and other potential blowback.
As part of his investigation into possible influence peddling, Rep. James Comer, head of the House Oversight Committee, addressed a letter this week to the SoHo gallery owner who exhibited Hunter Biden’s paintings requesting information about who acquired the artwork.
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, addresses the investigations into Hunter Biden at the National Press Club on Monday.
Georges Berges, the owner of the gallery, told The Post that the request for sales information should be directed to his attorneys, although he took the opportunity to praise Hunter Biden’s artwork.
Berges told The Post about the recovering crack addict, “His is a story of perseverance; Hunter’s story reflects what I believe is the beauty of humanity, judged not by the fall, but by having the strength to rise up, by having the character required to change and the courage to do it.”
Other notable personalities, such as former President Bill Clinton and longtime political operative Roger Stone, have established legal defense funds in response to escalating legal costs associated with ongoing investigations.
However, the disclosure mechanism governing the funds is frequently imprecise, which raises ethical concerns about who is donating and whether they are attempting to influence the White House.
According to a Washington Post study, there are few regulations controlling private legal defense funds.
The Office of Government Ethics, the office responsible for overseeing conflicts of interest in the executive branch, has begun to develop regulations for executive branch officials, although this process is ongoing.
Despite concerns regarding donors attempting to buy influence, the administration is not considering guidelines for the offspring of elected officials.
The Federal Election Commission does not consider legal defense money to be part of the campaign finance system, according to Public Citizen lobbyist Craig Holman.
The conversations surrounding Hunter Biden’s defense fund remain in their infancy, and questions regarding the fund’s management and confidentiality have not yet been resolved.
In the instance of Clinton’s defense fund, which was established during his second term in response to the Paul Jones sexual harassment lawsuit, the Whitewater probe, and impeachment proceedings, donations were capped at $10,000 per year and donors’ identities were made public.
Lobbyists, government officials, and noncitizens were prohibited from making contributions.
The American Conservative Union established the tax-deductible First Amendment Fund to aid former Trump administration officials caught up in a House committee’s probe of the January 6, 2021 attack on the nation’s capital.
Stone, who was interrogated by this committee, also established a legal defense fund, according to the report. However, the contributions were not tax deductible and were “considered gifts to Roger Stone.”
Those close to Hunter Biden have condemned the Republican inquiries as political posturing meant to harm the president and have argued that the investigations into the first son are unwarranted because he is a private individual.
However, Comer (R-Kentucky) stated that the probe against Hunter Biden is part of a larger investigation into the Biden family’s influence peddling.
“We have evidence that we will continue to be transparent with as we begin our hearings next week,” Comer told the National Press Club on Monday. “This family is receiving millions of dollars from our adversaries.” And I believe we should determine what that money was used for and who provided it.
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