Hunter Biden was hired by a Romanian businessman accused of corruption who was trying to “influence US government policy” during US President Joe Biden’s time as vice president, prosecutors said in court papers on Wednesday.
Special counsel David Weiss’ team said that Hunter Biden’s business associate would testify at a federal tax trial of the president’s son about the arrangement with the executive, Gabriel Popoviciu, who was facing criminal investigation at the time in Romania.
An attorney for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Photo: Reuters
Prosecutors plan to introduce evidence that Hunter Biden and his business associate “received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence US policy and public opinion,” the filing said.
Popoviciu wanted US government agencies to probe the Romanian bribery investigation he was facing in the hopes that would end his legal trouble, prosecutors said.
Popoviciu is identified only in court papers as G.P.
However, the details line up with information released in a congressional investigation and media reporting 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 denied any wrongdoing.
An attorney who previously represented Popoviciu did not immediately respond to a telephone message.
Prosecutors say Hunter Biden agreed with his business associate to help Popoviciu fight the criminal charges against him.
However, prosecutors said they were concerned that “lobbying work might cause political ramifications” for Joe Biden, so the arrangement was structured in a way that “concealed the true nature of the work” for Popoviciu.
Hunter Biden’s business associate and Popoviciu signed an agreement to make it look like Popoviciu’s payments were for “management services to real-estate prosperities in Romania.”
However, “that was not actually what G.P. was paying for,” prosecutors said.
Popoviciu and Hunter Biden’s business associate agreed that they would be paid for their work to “attempt to influence US government agencies to investigate the Romanian investigation,” prosecutors said.
Hunter Biden’s business associate was paid more than US$3 million, which was split with Hunter Biden and another business partner, prosecutors said.
The claims were made in court papers as prosecutors responded to a request by Hunter Biden’s legal team to bar from his upcoming trial any reference to allegations of improper political influence.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers have said in court papers that he has been “the target of politically motivated attacks and conspiracy theories” about his foreign business dealings.
Hunter Biden’s trial is set to begin next month in Los Angeles.
It centers on charges that he failed to pay at least US$1.4 million in taxes over four years.
Prosecutors say they would not introduce any evidence that Hunter Biden was directly paid by a foreign government “or evidence that the defendant received compensation for actions taken by his father that impacted national or international politics.”
Still, prosecutors say what Hunter Biden agreed to do for Popoviciu is relevant at trial because it “demonstrates his state and mind and intent” during the years he’s accused of failing to pay his taxes.
“It is also evidence that the defendant’s actions do not reflect someone with a diminished capacity, given that he agreed to attempt to influence US public policy and receive millions of dollars” in the agreement with his business associate, prosecutors wrote.
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