There is a possibility that President Joe Biden could wind up being targeted by the FBI in a probe regarding son Hunter Biden’s finances, a report warned on Tuesday, because the two of them shared bank accounts and appeared to pay some of each other’s bills.
According to emails seen by the Daily Mail that originated from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop between him and Eric Schwerin, his business partner at consultancy Rosemont Seneca, Schwerin was working on the future president’s taxes while also discussing how the two men were paying each other’s household bills. In addition, the emails show that Schwerin was handling book deal requests for then-Vice President Biden while also taking care of donating Joe Biden’s papers to the University of Delaware.
“It is unclear why Schwerin had this intimate role in the vice president’s affairs rather than government officials in the Office of the Vice President,” the Daily Mail reported.
Hunter Biden has noted that he and his dad shared a bank account. Last year, he also stated publicly that he was being investigated by the federal government over taxes.
One email dated April 9, 2010, from Schwerin to Hunter states, “I was dealing all afternoon with JRB’s taxes (but solved a big issue – so it was all worth it).” The president’s full name is Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.
Later the same year, in a June 10 email Schwerin noted, “Your Dad’s Delaware tax refund check came today. I am depositing it in his account and writing a check in that amount back to you since he owes it to you. Don’t think I need to run it by him, but if you want to go ahead. If not, I will deposit tomorrow.”
It’s not clear why Joe Biden owed his son money.
According to an expert in money laundering who spoke with the Daily Mail, those sorts of transactions and entanglements could land the president in the middle of the FBI’s probe.
“Whatever transaction you’re looking at, if there’s a connection to a family member or a friend, sure the answer is yes [they would be investigated],” said the expert, identified as a former federal prosecutor who asked not to be named. “Obviously, if you’re talking about the president of the United States, you’d better have a pretty damn good reason to talk to that person.”
In addition to tax issues, the FBI and IRS are also looking into Hunter Biden’s business dealings and any possibility that he may have been involved in money laundering schemes.
“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors,” Hunter Biden said in December when he announced he had learned about the investigations.
Former intelligence officer and Treasury Special Agent John Cassara told the Daily Mail that Joe Biden would already be a subject of an investigation if he were not the president.
“The information available publicly is very worrisome, particularly in the areas of corruption,” he said. “They could go at this from all different avenues. Follow the corruption trail and then charge money laundering.”
“Corruption is a predicate offense for money laundering. And besides corruption, it’s the perception of corruption,” he added. “This kind of thing should not be happening. It undermines full faith in the U.S. government. It undermines trust and our international reputation. It’s an embarrassment.”
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