AAQ: Very interesting theory about willful suppression of adverse information constituting an “in-kind” political contribution but Feds have not had much success prosecuting failure to report such “in-kind” violations. The FEC had deadlocked on these types of violations (given the 3-3 R/D split) just as they have on just about every other alleged violation.
CA: The Hunter Biden stuff is a work in progress and had it been known, very well might have affected election outcome. Problem is that we still don’t know whether there is a “there” there. The FBI investigation of possible criminal violations of tax laws, as well as FARA ( foreign lobbying) and money laundering rules has been ongoing for several years but
prosecutors face a number of hurdles to bringing criminal charges. Most notable (as Trump well knows from the Manhattan DA’s investigation of the his inflated/deflated property valuations) is proving that Biden Jr. intentionally violated either the tax laws or FARA. On the latter, they might bring civil charges through which it would be considerably easier to obtain a conviction (or plea agreement).
On the media side, with the NYT and WashPost both trying to do tshuvah by running stories now, I’d agree there was a predisposition to dismiss the allegations run by the NYPost as simply Russian disinformaiton. I myself, to this day, cannot believe anyone (much less a Yale law school grad) would be so incredibly dumb as to leave a computer for repairs w/o removing all files from the hard drive
But there has been debate within the Justice Department over whether the available evidence proves that Mr. Biden intended to violate FARA, which the government must prove in order to secure a criminal conviction. The prosecutors have discussed approaching potential FARA violations as a civil matter, which would require Mr. Biden to register retroactively as a foreign agent, but would avoid criminal charges, according to the people familiar with the case.
Such a resolution could complicate a potential money laundering case, since money laundering is typically charged in connection with another crime.
Over the last two years, federal prosecutors in Delaware have issued scores of subpoenas for documents related to Hunter Biden’s foreign work and for bank accounts linked to him and his associates, including two formerly close business partners, Eric Schwerin and Devon Archer, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Last year, prosecutors interviewed Mr. Archer and subpoenaed him for documents and grand jury testimony, the people said. Mr. Archer, who was sentenced last month in an unrelated securities fraud case in which a decision to set aside his conviction was reversed, had served with Mr. Biden on Burisma’s board, starting in 2014.
People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity. Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.
In some of the emails, Mr. Biden displayed a familiarity with FARA, and a desire to avoid triggering it.
In one email to Mr. Archer in April 2014, Mr. Biden outlined his vision for working with Burisma. In the email, Hunter Biden indicated that the forthcoming announcement of a trip to Ukraine by Vice President Biden — who is referred to in the email as “my guy,” but not by name — should “be characterized as part of our advice and thinking — but what he will say and do is out of our hands.”
The announcement “could be a really good thing or it could end up creating too great an expectation. We need to temper expectations regarding that visit,” Hunter Biden wrote.
Vice President Biden traveled to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, about a week after the email.
In the same April 2014 email, Hunter Biden indicated that Burisma’s officials “need to know in no uncertain terms that we will not and cannot intervene directly with domestic policymakers, and that we need to abide by FARA and any other U.S. laws in the strictest sense across the board.”
He suggested enlisting the law firm where he worked at the time, Boies Schiller Flexner, to help Burisma through “direct discussions at state, energy and NSC,” referring to two cabinet departments and the National Security Council at the White House.
The firm “can devise a media plan and arrange for legal protections and mitigate U.S. domestic negative press regarding the current leadership if need be,” Mr. Biden wrote in the email.
Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer, Boies Schiller Flexner and Blue Star Strategies did not register under FARA on behalf of Burisma.
In another set of emails examined by prosecutors, Hunter Biden and Mr. Archer discussed inviting foreign business associates, including a Burisma executive, to a dinner in April 2015 at a Washington restaurant where Vice President Biden would stop by. It is not clear whether the Burisma executive attended the dinner, although the vice president did make an appearance, according to people familiar with the event.
Prosecutors also subpoenaed records related to a lawsuit brought by the former employee of Mr. Biden’s, Lunden Alexis Roberts, in Arkansas state court, according to her lawyer.
Ms. Roberts sued Mr. Biden for child support and paternity in 2019, after one of his companies ceased paying her and providing her with health insurance, according to court records.
Mr. Biden and Ms. Roberts reached a settlement out of court in the paternity case in March 2020.
Last year, prosecutors traveled to Little Rock, Ark., and asked Ms. Roberts and her lawyer about Mr. Biden’s finances, including which corporate entity he used to pay her, and whether that entity had received payments from Burisma, according to a person familiar with the questioning.
And last month, in response to another subpoena, Ms. Roberts testified before the grand jury in Delaware, according to her lawyer.
From: The Times