The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially leveled allegations of influence peddling against Hunter Biden, indicating he was involved in a questionable overseas deal with Romanian oligarch Gabriel Popoviciu.
Hunter Biden’s involvement in the deal had previously been reported in 2018 and claims of his participation now appear to be supported by recent court filings, as Breitbart reports.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, is formally alleged by the DOJ to have been implicated in influence peddling abroad during his father's vice presidency. Details from recent court documents confirm payments were structured to bypass the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), an issue initially revealed by author Peter Schweizer in his 2018 book Secret Empires.
Gabriel Popoviciu, the Romanian businessman involved, is currently cooperating with DOJ prosecutors. The filings detail methods employed to shield Hunter Biden and an unnamed associate from FARA violations. Popoviciu hired Biden and his partner, remitting over $3 million for their services, with a third of this amount directly benefiting Hunter Biden.
While the payments and influence activities occurred during Joe Biden's tenure as vice president, Hunter Biden’s more recent activities under President Biden's administration are not implicated in these filings. The focus remains strictly on historical actions that align closely with Peter Schweizer’s prior assertions.
Investigative journalist Peter Schweizer discussed these revelations on a special edition of the The Drill Down podcast, with co-host Eric Eggers. Schweizer's investigative endeavors first brought these actions to light over six years ago, reinforcing his charges of widespread influence peddling by the Biden family during and after Joe Biden’s vice presidency. "This is an appetizer for what is going to be the main course," Schweizer said, hinting at further movements by the DOJ involving larger transactions in China, Ukraine, and Russia.
The DOJ filings present messages from Hunter Biden that acknowledge potential FARA violations. While this Romanian case implicates sums between $500,000 and $800,000, Schweizer asserts that larger activities in China ($30 million), Ukraine ($6 million), and Russia ($3.5 million) are in scope.
Schweizer noted that the protection around Joe Biden, significantly regarding his political campaign, has dissipated. This situation permits DOJ officials to pursue these cases more freely. “I think we’re going to see Joe Biden pardon Hunter Biden before leaving office,” Schweizer predicted, emphasizing the potential political consequences. He asserted that the evaporation of Joe Biden's campaign has allowed these DOJ actions to proceed with less political interference.
The recent DOJ activities underscore a broader push to investigate Hunter Biden’s international dealings as described in Schweizer’s book. The 2018 publication, Secret Empires, first documented these transactions, revealing a pattern that DOJ investigations appear to be corroborating.
The links between Hunter Biden and substantial sums in fundraising linked to significant foreign deals underline a significant narrative extending beyond the current probe. Schweizer’s proactive stance and early warnings seem vindicated by DOJ's current positioning and actions.
Hunter Biden’s alleged activities with Popoviciu involved payments aimed at influencing U.S. government actions to investigate claims against Popoviciu in Romania. This strategy of evading FARA was detailed in Schweizer's work and now surfaces in the DOJ’s legal narrative. Schweizer’s commentary predicts further DOJ actions involving monetary dealings with larger consequences. Reflecting on the Romanian deal, he notes, "The Romanian case involved between $500,000 and $800,000, but the deals in China involved $30 million."
The legal implications of these international transactions imply broader DOJ investigations that may extend beyond the Romanian episode. Schweizer’s anticipation of these developments underscores a long-term investigative trajectory that calls into question several significant foreign transactions.
Concluding this chapter, Schweizer’s observations on the ramifications for President Joe Biden indicate a politically charged intersection. The potential for pardoning Hunter Biden suggests an ongoing intertwining of legal and political dimensions.
