Hunter Biden investigation: What are the penalties for four possible tax fraud and gun charges?
Jerry Dunleavy
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Hunter Biden is being scrutinized by a federal prosecutor for possible tax fraud and for allegedly lying on a federal form when purchasing a firearm — crimes that could result in President Joe Biden’s son being fined or even landing in prison.
Republicans have long contended Hunter Biden’s lucrative business dealings in Ukraine and China indicate he may have committed crimes related to foreign lobbying or money laundering, although multiple recent reports have indicated U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump-appointed holdover and the Delaware prosecutor overseeing the case, may have narrowed his focus to Hunter Biden potentially committing tax fraud and lying on a federal gun form when purchasing a revolver.
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Both are potential felonies that could lead to prison time if they are pursued by the Department of Justice.
NBC News reported this week that federal prosecutors “have considered charging Hunter Biden with three tax crimes and a charge related to a gun purchase.” The outlet said the tax evasion charges related to two potential misdemeanor counts and one potential felony count, while the gun charge is also a possible felony.
The outlet said “two senior law enforcement sources” spoke of “growing frustration” inside the FBI because “investigators finished the bulk of their work on the case about a year ago.” A “senior law enforcement source” also said the IRS finished its own investigation more than a year ago.
The new report came just after an IRS whistleblower provided Congress with “protected disclosures” on Wednesday about the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, alleging there were “examples of preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected.”
The IRS agent’s allegations also “involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case” against Hunter Biden and “contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee.”
A source familiar with the whistleblower letter confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Thursday that Attorney General Merrick Garland is the unnamed senior Biden official whose testimony before Congress is being challenged.
Tax fraud
If charged and convicted of felonious tax fraud, Hunter Biden would likely be hit with a fine, while jail time would also be possible.
The federal statutes on efforts to “evade or defeat tax,” 26 U.S. Code § 7201, state that anyone who “willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any tax” can be “fined not more than $100,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” It is unlikely Hunter Biden would be sentenced to anything close to the maximum.
Hunter Biden revealed he was under federal investigation for his taxes shortly after the 2020 election, saying, “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 advisers.”
Representatives for Hunter Biden said last year that he had paid off a roughly $2 million past-due tax bill. He did so by taking out a $2 million loan from Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, who has been helping with shaping his media narrative and his legal strategies. Paying off the tax bill does not eliminate possible criminality.
Gun charge
Lying on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Form 4473 is a potential federal felony under 18 U.S. Code § 922, with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years behind bars. It is unlikely that Hunter Biden would receive such a lengthy sentence if convicted.
Copies of Hunter Biden’s Firearms Transaction Record dated Oct. 12, 2018, reportedly show Hunter Biden responded “no” to a question on the transaction record that asked, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”
Hunter Biden and his family have publicly talked about his history of drug abuse, and his memoir, Beautiful Things, discussed his illegal drug use before, during, and after that time frame. His laptop hard drive also contains extensive evidence of illegal drug use.
The Government Accountability Office reported in 2018 that prosecutions for lying on a form are rare, but such prosecutions do happen. The GAO said federal and state law enforcement “investigate and prosecute a small percentage of individuals who falsify information on a firearms form.”
The GAO said for fiscal 2017, the year spanning just before Hunter Biden allegedly lied on the gun form, the ATF made 12,710 referrals for investigation, but U.S. attorneys considered just 50 cases for prosecution, and just a dozen such cases were actually prosecuted.
Hunter Biden’s .38 caliber revolver was thrown in the trash near a Delaware high school in October 2018 by sister-in-law Hallie Biden, with whom he was in a romantic relationship. He berated Hallie Biden, the widow of his brother, Beau, after police responded, and he accused her of ruining his life.
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The president’s son had bought the handgun just a couple of days before it was tossed in the garbage.
More serious crimes
Although the Justice Department indicting the son of a sitting president would be a major development, the bigger questions remain whether the DOJ has been considering more significant charges tied to money laundering or foreign lobbying and whether investigators have been looking into the national security implications of Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings, especially his association with businessmen linked to Chinese intelligence and his receipt of millions of dollars from CEFC, a since-defunct Chinese energy conglomerate.