Court documents unsealed on Wednesday show prosecutors revealed that a Romanian businessman, Gabriel Popoviciu, facing corruption allegations, retained Hunter Biden in the hopes of "influencing U.S. government policy" during Joe Biden's vice presidency.
The special counsel, David Weiss, disclosed that a business associate of Hunter Biden will testify in an upcoming federal tax trial about Hunter's dealings with Popoviciu. At the time, Popoviciu was under criminal investigation in Romania.
These revelations will perhaps stir up anew the Hunter Biden international business dealings, which have been a centerpiece of Republican investigations into the Biden family activities. Hunter Biden has characterized these Republican investigations as political and asserted that his father was never involved in his business activities.
A legal representative for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
They are ready to present evidence that the money from the foreign entity was given to Hunter Biden and his business associate to sway U.S. policy and public opinion. According to the filing, Popoviciu had been seeking to utilize the government agencies of the United States to investigate his case of bribery in Romania to extricate him from the legal messes he was going through.
Popoviciu, who was identified as G.P. in the court filings, aligns directly with information from the congressional investigations and media reports about Hunter Biden's legal representation in Romania. Popoviciu was convicted in 2017 of real estate fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison, a ruling he has appealed. A lawyer who once represented Popoviciu did not return a phone message seeking comment.
According to prosecutors, Hunter Biden and his business associate did agree to help Popoviciu with the criminal charges against him, but "concerns about the potential political fallout for Joe Biden" led to a secretive arrangement meant to obscure the nature of their work with Popoviciu.
The prosecutors say that an agreement was written to dress up payments from Popoviciu as fees for "management services to real estate properties in Romania." That wasn't the purpose. Instead, Popoviciu and Hunter's associate would use the money to lobby U.S. government agencies on the Romanian case, investigating the matter. Over $3 million was paid to Hunter Biden's associate, the prosecutors said, which he then split with Hunter and another partner.
These allegations have come to light in the context of the prosecutors' response to a request from the legal team of Hunter Biden. He wanted mentions of accusations relating to improper political influence struck off his upcoming trial. In this context, although ongoing investigations have raised ethical red flags, no evidence so far has come to light that President Biden was involved in corrupt practices or had taken bribes during his vice presidency or now.
Hunter Biden's attorneys say he was at the receiving end of politicized attacks and conspiracy theories over his foreign business activities. His legal team also pointed out that no charges have ever been brought against him with respect to these issues and that the Special Counsel should not be permitted to raise any such issues at trial.
The upcoming trial in Los Angeles next month will be on allegations that Hunter Biden dodged $1.4 million in taxes over four years consecutively while he was outwardly struggling with drug addiction.
Prosecutors told the court that they wouldn't submit any evidence to prove that Hunter Biden directly received any money from a foreign government or for any actions his father took, impacting domestic or foreign policy. However, they say his behavior with regard to Popoviciu is relevant to establish his state of mind and intent for the years in which he is alleged to have committed tax fraud.
Prosecutors further indicate that this is information on Hunter's mental capacity—he agreed to have influence over U.S. policy and be paid handsomely for that influence.
This tax trial comes on the heels of Hunter Biden's conviction for three felonies regarding purchasing a firearm in 2018, wherein he lied about his drug use on an obligatory form. He could be sentenced to 25 years in prison, although as a first offender, he is likely to get a lesser sentence or maybe even stay out of prison.
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