Attorney General William Barr knew about federal investigations into Hunter Biden , President-elect Joe Biden’s son, and “worked to avoid their public disclosure,” according to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal .
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies pressured Barr to pursue the Bidens, apparently hoping that inquiries would damage the Democrat’s presidential bid. Barr was aware of the probes before spring of this year, a person familiar with the matter said, but he successfully resisted pressure to disclose them to the public.
Hunter Biden is being investigated by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware and by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. The Manhattan probe allegedly concerns his business and financial dealings, but it is part of a “broader criminal investigation” and he is not a target for criminal prosecution. Neither of the two probes implicates the president-elect, per individuals familiar with the situation.
Barr’s alleged actions were in accordance with Justice Department guidelines, which recommend that investigators refrain from aggressively targeting a political candidate ahead of an election. Much like Barr, Delaware and Manhattan investigators “tried to keep the cases out of public view by taking few visible steps,” according to a person briefed on the matter.
In October, some Republicans urged Barr to appoint a special counsel to launch a probe into Hunter Biden and his father. Trump put pressure on the attorney general as well, telling Fox News that he has “got to act, and he’s got to act fast.”
“He’s got to appoint somebody. This is major corruption and this has to be known about before the election,” the commander-in-chief said at the time.
But Barr refused to intervene, drawing Trump’s ire. Biden went on to win the 2020 presidential race, receiving more votes than any presidential candidate in American history.
Trump has long targeted the Biden family. His attempts to uncover Hunter Biden’s allegedly inappropriate business dealings in Ukraine led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives. At the time, Trump tried to persuade Barr to contact the Ukrainian government, which he refused to do.
As The Wall Street Journal noted, Hunter Biden’s work overseas came under intense scrutiny during the 2020 election, but the family has rejected them as baseless.
In a statement earlier this week, Biden’s transition team said that the president-elect is “proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”
It was recently reported that Barr is considering leaving his position, but some believe that Trump will fire him.
