The tax investigation was launched in 2018,the year before the elder Biden announced his candidacy for president. Hunter Biden confirmed the existence of the investigation on Wednesday,saying he learnt about it for the first time the previous day.
“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,” he said in a statement.
It isn’t clear which entities or business dealings might be tied up in the probe,though the person with knowledge of the matter said at least some of the focus was on his past work in China. Federal investigators served a round of subpoenas on Tuesday,including one for Hunter Biden,according to another person familiar with the investigation.
Investigators did not reach out until recently because of Justice Department practice against taking overt investigative actions in the run-up to an election,one of the people said. The people familiar with the investigation insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe.
Hunter Biden has a history of international affairs and business dealings in a number of countries. Trump and his allies have accused him of profiting off his political connections,and have also raised unsubstantiated charges of corruption related to hiswork in Ukraine at the time his father was vice president and leading the Obama administration’s dealings with the Eastern European nation.
The disclosure of the federal investigation,led by the US attorney's office in Delaware,comes at an awkward moment for the incoming president,who is assembling his cabinet. His pick for attorney-general could have oversight of the investigation into his son if it is still ongoing when Biden is sworn in on January 20.