Hunter Biden’s Shadow Hovers over the New Administration in the US

The president-elect’s son is in the spotlight due to his business dealings and an ongoing investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware into his taxes

Family is an institution that accompanies a person throughout their lifetime. For the next president of the United States, his family will suddenly have front row seats when Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20. Even before the start of Biden’s term, the spotlight of scrutiny has been on his son, Hunter, who is being investigated for his business dealings and who has already been in Republican crosshairs for his business relations in Ukraine.

Barack Obama left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue scandal-free, even though he had two teenage daughters being targeted. The worst that happened was with Malia, the oldest, when she was seen smoking what appeared to be marijuana in a well-known music festival. This was not the case with other recent presidents, from the investigation into Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy, for intervening in favor of Libya’s government, to one of George H.W. Bush’s sons, Neil, for a fraudulent bank loan, and with a presidential pardon granted by Bill Clinton to his brother Roger for drug abuse. Donald Trump’s children have also had issues with the law.

When Biden is sworn in, he will walk through the White House doors with large family baggage called Hunter Biden and his legal troubles. If the U.S. Department of Justice does not drop the investigation into Biden’s only living son and successor before that date, the new president will be faced with the decision to allow his government to open an investigation that may expose his son to criminal charges.

Former Attorney General William Barr, who recently resigned, distanced himself from Trump after saying that he did not see a reason to appoint a special counsel, following the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware opening an investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes. Despite this, Republicans are now asking Joe Biden to reassure them that the case will be isolated from any type of favoritism.

Hunter Biden’s life was marked by the trajectory of his influential parents. His personal path had in its nearly 50 years more shadows than lights, more tragedies than happiness, beginning with his mother’s death in a traffic accident when he was three years old. Alcohol, drugs, prostitutes, a failed marriage, the close relationship with his brother Beau’s widow and many rehabilitation clinics were part of over half of his young life. Fairly or not, he is considered the black sheep in the Biden family.

He was influenced by the fact that he is a man eclipsed by his older brother, Beau, destined to succeed like his father, only being stopped by his premature death due to cancer in 2015. For years, Hunter has been a concern of the Bidens. Now, his shadow bordering on the limits of legality is hovering over the new administration.

For starters, the past activities of the attorney, lobbyist and businessman were targeted by accusations by the exiting president, even though the witch hunt started by Trump against Hunter, and by extension against his father, ended up backfiring. By pushing for an investigation into Hunter’s business dealings with a gas company in Ukraine, Trump pressured the president of that country, paving the way to his impeachment, which only ended in the Senate, with a Republican majority.

A Forgotten Computer

The attacks from the current president were made at the beginning of the Democratic candidate’s race for the White House, but on the last stretch of the battle, the accusations came back as a potential scandal after a tabloid from magnate Rupert Murdoch discussed supposed emails found in a computer that Hunter Biden had ordered to be repaired but never picked up. The brief electronic correspondence was summed up by the New York Post: “Ukrainian exec thanked Hunter Biden for ‘opportunity to meet’ veep dad.” Behind this story from Joe Biden’s second term with Obama, is Trump’s personal attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has made baseless accusations against the Bidens for years.

“Everybody has trauma. There’s addiction in every family. I was in that darkness. I was in that tunnel—it’s a never-ending tunnel. You don’t get rid of it,” said Hunter Biden in a profile written by Adam Entous in The New Yorker last year. Hunter confessed all of his sins to get ahead of any scandal and to not jeopardize his father when he began his path to the White House. The investigation into his business

Currently, Hunter faces a federal investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware into his “tax affairs,” as he stated, about his complicated financial activities, although there are currently no proven instances of illegal misconduct.

Even if Hunter Biden is not found guilty of violating the law, the fact that there is an investigation is a problem for the president. In Billy Carter’s case, brother of another Democratic president, the scandals led to four congressional and judicial investigations, and a 92-page report from the White House. If Hunter Biden’s problems follow the same path, the Democratic administration will face a complicated situation, with months of investigations that would stall the White House’s work and would be a sword of Damocles over the president.