It’s been a turbulent year for Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s embattled son famous for his foreign business dealings and drug-fueled extravagance.
Over the past year, Hunter Biden began to face consequences for his actions in the form of criminal indictments, congressional investigations and further public scrutiny. Below are the five biggest Hunter Biden related developments of 2023. (RELATED: Biden DOJ Prevented Lesley Wolf From Discussing Details About David Weiss’ Authority)
Hunter Biden’s guilty plea deal falls apart
Hunter Biden’s troubles were supposed to be put to bed in July 2023 with a guilty plea deal for two tax misdemeanor offenses in Delaware and a pretrial diversion agreement for a single felony gun charge. But Delaware U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika took issue with a prosecutorial immunity provision contained in the diversion agreement when Biden appeared in court to finalize the guilty plea.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, walks through the cemetery at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church on the day of the death of the President’s first wife and daughter who died in a car accident in 1972, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., December 18, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Noreika’s scrutiny caused a dispute between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Biden’s legal team over the scope of his potential immunity, resulting in the collapse of his plea deal and diversion agreement. He pleaded not guilty to the two tax misdemeanors and the diversion agreement was not put into place. Hunter Biden’s legal team has argued the diversion agreement is still legally binding. (RELATED: Lesley Wolf Refused To Explain Order To Remove Joe Biden From Search Warrant In Hunter Biden Case)
IRS whistleblowers come forward
IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in late May and early June with allegations DOJ officials gave Hunter Biden special treatment during the ongoing criminal investigation. The Ways and Means Committee released the transcripts of their testimony in late June and both whistleblowers testified publicly the next month.
Significant allegations brought forward by the IRS whistleblowers include the DOJ rejecting Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ request for additional charging authority, President-elect Biden’s transition team getting tipped off to plans to interview Hunter Biden and Biden-appointed U.S. Attorneys for the District of Columbia and Central District of California refusing to cooperate with Weiss on the case.
In addition, Shapley released a threatening text Hunter Biden appeared to send a Chinese business associate where he invoked his father’s presence and he confirmed the FBI verified Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop archive in November 2019. Both whistleblowers described the tax related charges they recommended against Hunter Biden and delivered specific information about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 05: Internal Revenue Service Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley (L) and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler (R), who both worked on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, testify before the House Ways and Means Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on December 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Ways and Means Committee is hearing testimony from Internal Revenue whistleblowers Service Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler, who both claim they were blocked from pursuing leads that would lead to more serious charges during their five-year investigation into Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The Ways and Means Committee released documents in September that substantiated the IRS whistleblower allegations and gave further information related to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. Shapley and Ziegler testified again on Dec. 5 and the committee subsequently released more documents produced by Ziegler. (RELATED: Hunter Biden’s Business Relationship With Chinese Firm Began During Joe Biden’s Vice Presidency, Docs Show)
Witness testimony by DOJ, FBI and IRS officials confirmed major allegations brought forward by the IRS whistleblowers, House Republicans laid out in a report released on Dec. 5.
Hunter Biden indicted in Delaware and California
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August after the IRS whistleblowers testified publicly and Hunter Biden’s guilty plea agreement collapsed. Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden resulted in two separate indictments by federal grand juries in Delaware and the Central District of California. (RELATED: Hunter Biden’s Drug Addiction Defense Shattered By New California Indictment)
Hunter Biden faces three federal gun charges in Delaware with a maximum of 25 years in prison and nine tax related charges in California with a 17 year maximum. He pleaded not guilty to the gun charges at an Oct. 3 arraignment and seeks to have them dismissed. His California arraignment is expected to take place in January.
The IRS whistleblowers have said the California indictment vindicated their testimony. Hunter Biden’s defense attorney Abbe D. Lowell attributed the charges to political pressure.
Devon Archer testifies
Hunter Biden’s former business associate Devon Archer testified before the House Oversight Committee on July 31 about his business dealings with Hunter Biden and then-Vice President Joe Biden’s involvement. (RELATED: Joe Biden Used Fake Name To Exchange Over 50 Private Emails With Hunter Biden’s Business Associate, Docs Show)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 31: Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business partner, leaves the O’Neill House Office Building after testifying to the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on July 31, 2023 in Washington, DC. Archer gave closed-door testimony to the Republican-controlled committee that is investigating President Joe Biden’s son. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He recalled around 20 instances where Joe Biden spoke with his son’s business associates, most notably a spring 2014 dinner with Russian oligarch Elena Baturina and a spring 2015 dinner with Vadim Pozharskyi, an executive with Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings.
Archer and Biden co-founded investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners and worked together on Burisma’s board. In December 2015, at Burisma’s board meeting in Dubai, Hunter Biden “called D.C.” because of pressure from Pozharskyi and Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky, Archer testified. He did not say definitively that then-VP Biden was on the other end of his son’s phone call.
Archer did tell lawmakers how the Biden family “brand” protected Burisma from legal scrutiny. He also recalled that Joe Biden got coffee in Beijing with Chinese business associate Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR Partners, a joint business venture with Rosemont Seneca.
House GOP launches impeachment inquiry
House Republicans launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden in September based on Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and the IRS whistleblower testimony. The House Ways and Means, Oversight and Judiciary Committees are leading the impeachment inquiry.
Lawmakers held a hearing in late September with expert witnesses to kick off the inquiry and continue investigating the IRS whistleblower allegations and the Biden family business enterprise. At the end of the hearing, the House Oversight Committee announced subpoenas for Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden’s personal and business bank records.
To date, House investigators have shown the Biden family and its business associates received more than $24 million from foreign sources. (RELATED: Chinese Business Associate Paid Hunter Biden $1,000,000 For Non-Existent Legal Services, Docs Show)
House Republicans voted along party lines to officially authorize the impeachment inquiry on Dec. 13 following Hunter Biden’s refusal to appear for a closed-door deposition, defying the Oversight Committee’s subpoena.
Hunter: “Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma. Not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman. Not my investments at home nor abroad and certainly not as an… pic.twitter.com/NWgBrfm7ux
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 13, 2023
He instead held a press conference where he defended his father and relayed his offer to testify publicly instead of holding the closed-door session. (RELATED: Jordan, Comer Press White House Over Joe Biden’s Alleged Role In Hunter’s Refusal To Face Congress)
“Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma. Not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman. Not my investments at home nor abroad and certainly not as an artist,” Hunter Biden asserted.
His legal struggles and the impeachment inquiry will continue into the new year.