President-elect in a bind over tax probe into his son
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Mr Joe Biden's son Hunter celebrating at an election rally last month in Wilmington, Delaware, after the media announced his father had won the US presidential election. The President-elect's stated commitment to independent law enforcement will be tested by a federal tax investigation into his son.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON • The newly disclosed federal tax investigation into his son will test United States President-elect Joe Biden's stated commitment to independent law enforcement, while leaving him in a no-win situation that could prove distracting at best and politically and legally perilous at worst.
Unless President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) clears Mr Hunter Biden of wrongdoing before leaving office, the new president will confront the prospect of his own newly installed administration deciding how or whether to proceed with an inquiry that could expose his son to criminal prosecution.
Already, some Republicans are demanding that a special counsel be appointed to insulate the case from political influence.
On the campaign trail, Mr Joe Biden excoriated Mr Trump's efforts to use the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and DOJ to go after his enemies and go easy on his friends, vowing to restore a measure of autonomy for law enforcement if he won the presidential election.
News of the investigation into the younger Mr Biden now focuses even more attention on the incoming president's choice for attorney-general, and it will inevitably raise questions if he appoints someone perceived as a political ally rather than someone seen as more independent of the White House.
The President-elect has made no comment, since his son disclosed on Wednesday that he had been informed about the investigation being conducted by the US attorney in Delaware, beyond a statement issued by his staff expressing support for his son.
Mr Trump, who has himself engaged in dubious schemes to avoid paying taxes, including instances of outright fraud, seized on the issue to claim that journalists and even his own administration should have revealed the Hunter Biden investigation in time to help him win the election.
"Why didn't the Fake News Media, the FBI and the DOJ report the Biden matter before the election?" he wrote on Twitter on Thursday, before going on to falsely claim that he won anyway.
Either way, the matter now appears likely to hang over Mr Joe Biden even as he takes office.
If he refuses to appoint a special counsel and his Justice Department opts not to prosecute his son, many will invariably suspect favouritism.
If it does prosecute, then he will face the prospect of seeing his own son threatened with criminal prosecution.
NYTIMES
