A former US assistant attorney-turned-CNN commentator has criticized the “absurd” amount of time spent investigating alleged criminal behavior by Hunter Biden.
Elie Honig, who now works as CNN’s senior legal analyst, said Monday that the lack of progress five years from now is absurd.
He says the case could have been closed in five weeks, as others have claimed parts of the investigation are slow because Hunter is President Biden’s son.
The DOJ has been investigating Joe Biden’s 53-year-old son since 2018 over possible tax and money laundering violations related to his business dealings in Ukraine, China and elsewhere.
The agency is also looking into whether he lied on a 2018 gun license application in which he confirmed he was not using drugs.
Honey said the seemingly never-ending investigation was “beyond” anything he had ever seen.
Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said it was “absurd” that the “five-week” investigation into Hunter Biden’s gun license lasted five years
Hunter Biden, now 53, stated in a 2018 gun license application that he was not on drugs at the time
“It’s absurd,” he said.
“This has been pending, according to our coverage at CNN, since 2018 – five years.”
Honey said he was shocked that US Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, who is leading the investigation, took so long to make a charge decision.
“By the way, this investigation isn’t about the laptop,” Honig said, pointing to a hard drive full of Hunter’s embarrassing materials, which raises further questions about the amounts of money prestige companies gave the first son.
“This investigation is about a tax question: did Hunter Biden declare his income?” And a kind of obscure gun law: did he have a gun while on drugs, which federal law doesn’t allow? Did he lie about it?
“But five years? I mean, this is a five week investigation. And that extends across the Trump administration and the Biden administration.”
He added, “Somebody needs to call this case.” I don’t know what’s going on. It surpasses anything I’ve seen before.’
Hunter Biden’s attorneys cite a Supreme Court decision last summer that established a sweeping right for Americans to carry firearms in public.
That might be a sensible legal move, but it seems at odds with the president’s own view of the conservative-leaning court’s 6-3 verdict.
Hunter Biden’s attorneys have tried to stop prosecutors from filing gun-related charges against their client based on an alleged false statement on a 2018 form in which he denied being a drug addict
The gun ruling “contradicts both common sense and the Constitution and should deeply concern us all,” Biden said last year.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion, saying it protects “the right of an individual to carry a handgun outside the home in self-defense.”
President Biden has repeatedly called for new gun restrictions, including a renewal of the assault weapons ban, following a spate of mass shootings.
Hunter Biden’s defense team, which includes Chris Clark, has argued that given the Supreme Court ruling, a state gun possession charge could be dismissed on appeal, the New York Times reported earlier this month.
The Pro-Gun Coalition for Firearms Policy retweeted the story and pointed to Biden’s quote that the ruling was an affront to “common sense.”
Federal authorities began investigating this aspect of the investigation when Hallie Biden, Beau Biden’s widow, allegedly threw a handgun into a dumpster
A 2022 Supreme Court ruling that could allow a legal opening was penned by Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas
Trump-appointed US attorney David C. Weiss is overseeing the investigation
Don’t take your guns into town: A Supreme Court decision last summer establishing a sweeping right for Americans to carry firearms in public. Hunter had a falling out with Hallie Biden, who allegedly dumped his firearm in a dumpster in 2018, which started one aspect of the current investigation
The FBI reportedly began investigating the .38 caliber weapon after his former girlfriend Hallie Biden, Beau Biden’s former widow, allegedly dumped it in a dumpster.
Angry texts about the incident were found on Hunter’s infamous laptop.
Hunter could potentially face charges of misrepresentation in connection with the form required for gun buyers.
His team has in the past slammed prosecutors over alleged leaks related to the case.
On his 2018 form, Hunter ticked “no” when asked if he was “an illegal user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic, or other controlled substance.”
In his autobiography he has since admitted that he used drugs at the time.