Hunter Biden Hired by Romanian Businessman to ‘Influence’ US Agencies

Hunter Biden was hired by a Romanian businessman accused of corruption in an attempt to “influence U.S. government policy” during Joe Biden’s term as vice president, prosecutors said in court documents Wednesday.

Special Counsel David Weiss’ team said a business associate of Hunter Biden will testify in the president’s son’s upcoming federal tax trial about arrangements with CEO Gabriel Popoviciu, who was under criminal investigation in Romania at the time.

The allegations are likely to prompt a new round of criticism of Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings, which have been at the center of Republican investigations into the president’s family. Hunter Biden has criticized Republican investigations into his family’s business dealings as politically motivated and has insisted he never involved his father in the business dealings.

Hunter Biden’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Hunter Biden and a business associate “received compensation from a foreign principal who attempted to influence U.S. policy and public opinion,” according to the filing. Popoviciu wanted U.S. government agencies to investigate a Romanian bribery investigation he faced in hopes it would end his legal troubles, according to prosecutors.

Popoviciu is identified only in court documents as GP, but the details match information released in a congressional investigation and media reports about Hunter Biden’s legal work in Romania.

Popoviciu was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017 after being convicted of real estate fraud. He has denied any wrongdoing. A lawyer who previously represented Popoviciu did not immediately return a telephone message Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Hunter Biden agreed with his business associate to help Popovic fight criminal charges against him. But prosecutors say they feared the “lobbying work could have political ramifications” for Joe Biden, so the arrangement was structured in a way that “concealed the true nature of the work” Popovic did, prosecutors say.

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Hunter Biden’s business associate and Popoviciu signed an agreement to make it appear that Popoviciu’s payments were for “property management services for Prosperity Romania,” but prosecutors said, “In reality, GP did not pay for it.”

In reality, Popoviciu and Hunter Biden’s business associate agreed to be paid for their work “attempting to influence U.S. government agencies to investigate the Romanian investigation,” prosecutors said. Hunter Biden’s business associate received more than $3 million, which was split between Hunter and another business associate, prosecutors said.

The claims were made in court documents as prosecutors responded to a request from Hunter Biden’s legal team to exclude from his upcoming trial any reference to allegations of improper political influence that have dogged the president’s son for years. While the Republican investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that the president acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or in his previous office as vice president.

Hunter Biden’s attorneys said in court papers that he has been “the target of politically motivated attacks and conspiracy theories” about his overseas business dealings, but noted that he “has never been charged with any crime related to these baseless allegations and, therefore, the Special Counsel should be barred from raising these issues at trial.”

Hunter Biden’s trial, set to begin next month in Los Angeles, centers on allegations that he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years, a period during which he admitted he struggled with drug addiction.

Prosecutors say they will not present any evidence that Hunter Biden received direct compensation from a foreign government, “or evidence that the defendant received compensation for actions taken by his father that affected domestic or international policy.”

Still, prosecutors say what Hunter Biden agreed to do for Popovic is relevant to the trial because it “shows his state, mind and intent” during the years he was accused of failing to pay taxes.

“It is also evidence that the defendant’s actions do not demonstrate that he is acting in a manner that is indicative of his impaired capacity, given that in an agreement with his business associate, he agreed to attempt to influence U.S. public policy and receive millions of dollars,” prosecutors wrote.

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The tax trial began months after Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies related to purchasing firearms in 2018. Prosecutors argued that the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun purchase form, claiming he did not use drugs illegally or was addicted to them.

He could face up to 25 years in prison. He will be sentenced Nov. 13 in Wilmington, Del., but as a first-time offender, he is likely to get a much shorter sentence or avoid prison altogether.