Hunter Biden’s “tax affairs” are being investigated by the Department of Justice, according to a statement released by Joe Biden’s transition team on Wednesday.
The younger Biden, who has long drawn scrutiny over for business dealings, was informed by the United States Attorney for the District of Delaware earlier this week that he was under federal investigation.
“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors,” Hunter Biden said in the statement, which was issued to the press.
Although the exact nature of the investigation remains unclear, Hunter Biden’s admission comes more than a month after Fox News reported that his laptop had been seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of a money-laundering probe.
The younger Biden has faced questions for some time over his business dealings. In September the Senate Finance and Homeland Security Committees released an extensive report detailing numerous instances in which Hunter Biden’s business dealings appeared to overlap with his father’s political influence.
Senate Republicans have pledged to continue investigating the matter once the new Congress opens session in January. Of particular interest for some congressional watchdogs are allegations, first reported by Breitbart News in October, that a top official from a Chinese energy firm offered to provide the Biden “family” a $5 million non-secured, forgivable loan.
The offer was discussed in an email sent to SinoHawk Holdings CEO Tony Bobulinski, a one-time business partner of Hunter Biden. Bobulinski has since begun cooperating with both congressional investigators and federal law enforcement on the topic.