The authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop has been reaffirmed in court, shedding light on his extensive tax issues which are now central to his impending tax evasion trial. The laptop’s hard drive, verified by the FBI as early as December 2019, has revealed significant information about Biden’s long-standing tax delinquency and his struggles with substantial debts amid an extravagant lifestyle, as per Just the New York Times.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, faces legal challenges in the Central District of California, where he was indicted by Department of Justice Special Counsel David Weiss. Charged with three felony and six misdemeanor tax offenses, the indictment covers several years from 2016 to 2019, highlighting a pattern of tax avoidance that began as early as 2014. Notably, potential charges for 2014 and 2015 were not pursued due to the statute of limitations, despite evidence of tax issues starting from those years.
Documents from the laptop, including emails, reveal Hunter Biden’s financial maneuvers and the income discrepancies in his tax filings. In one notable email from 2017, his former partner Eric Schwerin pointed out the need to amend Biden’s 2014 tax returns to account for unreported income from Burisma Holdings, amounting to an additional $400,000. “That is approximately $400,000 extra so your income in 2014 was closer to $1,247,328,” Schwerin wrote, emphasizing the oversight.
Despite accurate reporting of his income in 2015, Hunter Biden ceased his installment payments to the IRS in March 2018, with a remaining tax liability of $106,020 for that year. The indictment portrays a lifestyle of prodigal spending, which was evident in the management of his finances. Schwerin’s correspondence suggests a pattern of borrowing against expected incomes to sustain an unsustainable lifestyle, exacerbated by significant renovations and personal indulgences.
The context of Hunter Biden’s financial and legal troubles also draws attention to his father’s potential involvement. Despite the serious allegations and evidence presented, investigations into Joe Biden’s role were reportedly stifled. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified to the House Ways and Means Committee about the obstructions they faced in pursuing leads that could implicate the elder Biden, citing a lack of support for thorough investigations.
House Republicans have pointed to transactions and communication evidence that suggest Joe Biden may have indirectly benefited from his son’s dealings. “We were interested in following leads that went to Joe Biden – President Biden – not because he was Vice President, but because in any normal investigation, if you see financial transactions between son and father, and email correspondence going back and forth, text messages, and WhatsApp messages, in every investigation we have ever worked, we would follow those leads to the father,” Shapley disclosed in his testimony.
This complex case continues to unfold, with the intricacies of the Biden family’s financial dealings under scrutiny, highlighting systemic issues in handling such high-profile investigations.