The final decision on whether to bring a case against the 52-year-old will be made by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed to his current post by former President Donald Trump.
The newspaper reported that the investigation, which started by focusing on Hunter’s overseas business dealings revealed in a series of reports by The Post in the fall of 2020, has shifted to whether he reported all his income from foreign transactions.
Hunter Biden himself announced in December of 2020 that his “tax affairs” were being investigated by federal authorities in Delaware, and said he was “confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately.”
At some point after that announcement, the first son paid off a tax bill totaling around $2 million. Sources told The Post that Kevin Morris, a big-shot Hollywood lawyer, had loaned the money to defray the debt
The US Department of Justice has declined to comment.
Hunter Biden, 52, is a lawyer and lobbyist who has worked abroad including in China and Ukraine.
According to the Washington Post, federal agents began investigating him in 2018, and initially centred on finances related to his overseas businesses and consulting.
Over time, the investigation began to focus on whether Hunter properly reported his income and made false statements on paperwork used to purchase a firearm in 2018.
In a book published last year he had admitted to still being a heavy user of crack cocaine at that time. But the Washington Post reports that he said "no" on a federal form asking if he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance".
Criminal charges stemming from falsehoods on gun-purchase forms remain rare and number in the hundreds each year.
The probe kicked off in 2018, when investigators started looking at whether Hunter and his business associates violated various tax and money laundering laws during their dealings in China and other countries. Emails and other records related to the deals were found on a laptop Hunter dropped off at a Delaware repair shop in 2019 and never reclaimed.
Meanwhile, questions surrounding Hunter’s gun purchase surfaced after Delaware State Police and the FBI launched an investigation in late 2018 following a bizarre incident involving him and his sister-in-law-turned-lover, Hallie Biden.
According to a Politico report last year, Hallie took her then-partner’s gun and tossed it into a trash can across from a high school because she feared he was going to kill himself.
In a statement sent to CBS, a lawyer for the president's son said that he expected the Department of Justice to "diligently investigate and prosecute" those who leaked information about the investigation.
"As is proper and legally required, we believe the prosecutors in this case are diligently and thoroughly weighing not just evidence provided by agents, but also all the other witnesses in this case, including witnesses for the defence," the statement from lawyer Chris Clark said.
"That is the job of the prosecutors. They should not be pressured, rushed, or criticised for doing their job."
Mr Clark added that he has had no contact "whatsoever" with any federal investigators. He said any information from agents, which was cited by the Washington Post which first reported the story, was "inherently biased, one-sided, and inaccurate".
Hunter Biden has long been a target of scrutiny by former President Donald Trump and his political allies, who have alleged that his overseas business dealings indicate a pattern of corruption.
While the younger Biden has admitted to a troubled life and a previous "massive drug addiction", both he and President Biden have denied that he engaged in illegal activity.
He first admitted knowledge of an investigation in December 2020. In a statement at the time, Hunter Biden said he was "confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, with the benefit of professional tax advisers."
In April, Joe Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klain, said the US president "is confident that his son didn't break the law" but that the matter would be left to the Justice Department and that the White House would not get involved.
The news of potential charges against Hunter, however, comes at a politically sensitive time for President Biden with just under a month to go until the 2022 US midterm elections.
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