Hunter Biden Files Motion to Subpoena Former President Trump and Others
Hunter Biden has filed a motion in federal court on Wednesday to subpoena former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General William Barr, and other former Justice Department officials. The motion seeks to obtain documents and materials that Biden's legal counsel alleges were part of a partisan pressure campaign to pursue investigations into the president's son.
In the court filing, Hunter Biden argues that communications between Trump and former Justice Department officials during his presidency reveal "more than a mere appearance that President Trump improperly and unrelentingly pressured DOJ to pursue an investigation and prosecution of Mr. Biden to advance President Trump's partisan ambitions."
The motion, which was filed in Delaware, is part of Hunter Biden's defense in a federal trial. He has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts related to his purchase and possession of a firearm in 2018 when he was a drug user. A plea agreement between the government and Biden's team that encompassed both the unlawful purchase of a firearm and misdemeanor tax charges collapsed in July after a federal judge questioned the terms.
Hunter Biden Claims Partisan Effort in Prosecution
Hunter Biden has argued that the push for harsher charges against him following the collapsed plea deal is part of a partisan effort to make his prosecution an "election issue." In a recent filing, Biden's defense team has requested subpoenas for materials they believe are relevant to evidentiary hearings.
The defense is seeking materials from former Justice Department officials Jeffrey Rosen and Richard Donoghue, who testified before the bipartisan Jan. 6 House select committee. Donoghue's notes from a call, as read in his testimony, indicate that former President Trump warned that "people will criticize the DOJ if [Hunter Biden] is not investigated for real."
Ongoing Investigation into Hunter Biden
The investigation into Hunter Biden, now led by special counsel David Weiss, has spanned five years, covering both the Trump administration and the presidency of Joe Biden. Republican-led congressional committees have focused their probes on Hunter Biden's personal finances and foreign business dealings.
These committees are investigating whether senior officials in the Biden administration obstructed criminal probes into the president's son and whether President Biden himself benefited from any foreign business arranged by his family members.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who were previously involved in the investigation of Hunter Biden, have testified before lawmakers that they recommended federal charges against the president's son for tax evasion and other violations. However, they claim to have faced resistance and were informed that then-U.S. Attorney David Weiss did not have the authority to bring charges in the case. Shapley and Ziegler have alleged that there was intentional slow-walking and a consistent pattern of preferential treatment in the federal investigation of Biden.
In November, during a closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Weiss disputed these claims and stated that he had full authority to pursue charges against Hunter Biden. He emphasized that he was never blocked or prevented from taking necessary steps in the investigation by other United States Attorneys, the Tax Division, or anyone else at the Department of Justice.
In the latest court filing, Hunter Biden's lawyer argues that the requested documents and materials from former President Trump, as well as former Justice Department officials William Barr, Jeffrey Rosen, and Patrick Donoghue, are crucial to his defense. The lawyer claims that these materials are relevant to the argument that the prosecution against Biden may be vindictive or selective, stemming from a pressure campaign that began during the previous administration and potentially violating Biden's Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution.
Both Barr and an attorney for Rosen have declined to comment on the matter. CBS News has also reached out to a spokesperson for former President Trump.
