In addition to facing a fresh federal indictment on tax charges, Hunter Biden is currently engaged in a dispute with Republicans in Congress regarding their demand for his appearance at a deposition next week.
On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee notified Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, that they would initiate contempt of Congress proceedings if Biden fails to comply with their subpoena to attend the deposition on December 13th.
Lowell informed the committee that the son of President Biden had opted to testify exclusively in an open hearing. He stated that this decision would promote transparency, as the committee has repeatedly used closed-door sessions to manipulate facts and mislead the American public. In response, the committee noted that Hunter Biden did not have the option to choose whether or not to appear for the deposition.
Pressure Mounts on Hunter Biden as House Votes on Impeachment Inquiry
The pressure on Hunter Biden to be deposed is increasing as the GOP-led House prepares to vote next week on formalizing its impeachment inquiry of his father, President Biden. Should the House formalize its inquiry, the move could throw more legal weight behind subpoenas, as Republicans on the House Oversight, Ways and Means, and Judiciary Committees continue to seek documents and testimony.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, said Thursday that a formal impeachment inquiry "strengthens our hand when we go to court against this administration or anyone who refuses our subpoena."
Hunter Biden's international business dealings have been the subject of both congressional and federal inquiries, and Republicans in Congress have been trying to show that President Biden was enriched by his the foreign business dealings of his son and his brother, James Biden, and that he accepted bribes, but they have produced no evidence that the president engaged in any wrongdoing.
Even before the House began to move on a resolution on formalizing the inquiry, the committees have been able to compile a number of documents and conduct several depositions.
Documents and testimony released by the House Ways and Means Committee Monday suggest that a California lawyer and ally of Hunter Biden, Kevin Morris, provided him with approximately $4.9 million.
Documentary Filmmaker Pays Hunter Biden's Tax Debts
Under an arrangement between filmmaker Morris and Hunter Biden, Morris has stepped in to pay off Hunter Biden's past-due tax debts. This comes as Morris has been working on a documentary chronicling Hunter Biden's life, which has attracted attention from conservative TV commentators and congressional Republicans, according to a source in Washington.
Joseph Ziegler, one of the IRS whistleblowers investigating Hunter Biden, revealed that the money used to pay off the tax debts raised concerns. In an interview with CBS News, Ziegler questioned whether the funds should have been considered taxable income rather than a loan.
"We saw a similar situation with Burisma income, where Hunter Biden classified it as a loan when it should have been treated as income," Ziegler explained, referring to the Ukrainian energy company that appointed Hunter Biden to its board during his father's vice presidency. Ziegler suggested that this could be part of a larger pattern of using loans to conceal potential income.
As of now, Hunter Biden's legal team has not responded to Ziegler's allegations.
Federal Investigation of Hunter Biden
The federal investigation of Hunter Biden has been underway since 2019, led by Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was named special counsel in the probe earlier this year. Weiss indicted Hunter Biden Thursday on nine counts of tax charges, alleging a scheme not to pay "at least $1.4 million" in federal income taxes for the years 2016 through 2019. During this period, Hunter Biden made over $7 million in total gross income, according to the indictment.
The two IRS whistleblowers who worked on the probe and testified before a congressional panel Monday, Ziegler and Gary Shapley, had expressed frustration with the pace of the investigation. They said they believed Weiss would "do the right thing" but wondered "where are those charges?"
After Weiss filed the indictment against Hunter Biden, in a joint statement to CBS News Thursday, the two whistleblowers called the indictment a "complete vindication of our thorough investigation."
Months earlier, the two whistleblowers alleged in congressional depositions that the Justice Department had imposed constraints on the Hunter Biden tax investigation. Shapley said Weiss stated in an October 2022 meeting that he was not "the deciding person" on whether to bring charges against the president's son.
Weiss appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and refuted that allegation, asserting, "I am, and have been, the decision-maker on this case" and said he'd never been "blocked or otherwise prevented" from pursuing charges.
Though they feel vindicated, two days before the indictment, Shapley and Ziegler told CBS News that making their story public has exacted a personal cost.
Two individuals, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, expressed the profound impact a certain event has had on their lives in separate interviews. Shapley struggled to find the right words to describe the extent of the effect, stating, "I've been asked that several times, and … I can't put it into words." He emphasized that this experience will continue to affect him negatively for the rest of his life.
Ziegler, visibly emotional, echoed Shapley's sentiment and shared how this event has affected his personal life and relationships. He mentioned the challenges his husband faced in his business due to standing up for their marriage, as his husband is gay. Ziegler disclosed that he has experienced depression and a sense of isolation within the IRS, where he still works.
"I never thought that this would happen like this," Ziegler expressed, "but … it's definitely [had] an effect on me."
