Hunter Biden's indictment over California taxes throws another landmine in President Biden's path to re-election — as he continues to contend with low poll numbers and concerns within his own base about his age and the economy.
For much of the past year, experts have focused on the extraordinary legal gauntlet facing Biden's nemesis Donald Trump — including a fraud trial underway in New York that could yield a ruling days before the Iowa Caucuses, and a lawsuit related to January 6. start the day before Super Tuesday.
Trump himself complained Thursday that prosecutors were slow to investigate him, saying without evidence that Biden's Justice Department was leading his civil lawsuit in New York.
Now Biden must contend with his own dose of exceptionally bad timing, partly due to a five-year investigation into his son's finances, which took a different track after the collapse of Hunter's plea deal last summer.
Now Biden, who received just 37 percent approval for his job in the latest CNN poll, must deal with a pair of lawsuits involving his son as Republicans in the House of Representatives launch their impeachment inquiry, with a vote set for next week.
Hunter Biden's legal troubles have dogged his father throughout his presidency. Now that he's facing a second tax charge, it will likely follow him throughout his re-election campaign
His son's gun charges trial (he is accused of lying on a form by denying drug use during the purchase of a gun) continues to unfold in the president's hometown of Wilmington.
Hunter's lawyers claim there was “relentless, inappropriate and partisan pressure” during the investigation under the Trump administration, which began in 2018.
The case comes amid the president's repeated calls for stricter gun controls as the country faces a record number of mass shootings.
The tax case threatens to create another legal headache in another jurisdiction that will also overlap with Biden's primaries and general election campaign.
House Republican Carlos Jimenez (R-Fla.) called the allegations “just the tip of the iceberg,” in comments on Fox Business.
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University who witnessed the Republican Party's impeachment, said the indictment undermines Biden's previous claims.
“I mean actually [Biden is] “I had no interaction with those people,” he told Fox, drawing a parallel to Bill Clinton's impeachment.
“It didn't work for Clinton. And it's even more insulting here,” he said.
House Speaker Rep. James Comer moves forward with impeachment
The two Hunter Biden trials will distract from a narrative that Democrats hoped to ride to re-election: Donald Trump's four criminal trials at 91 points. Trump railed against his fraud trial in New York on Thursday. He will take the stand on Monday
In addition to raising failed tax payment issues and foreign business transactions, the indictment alleges that Hunter spent $188,000 over four years on “adult entertainment,” along with other tawdry details that provide a useless distraction during a presidential campaign.
Hunter Biden's 'wild' spending has been revealed in a new indictment on nine criminal charges
The stunning 56-page indictment accuses the president's son of deliberately dodging taxes while making millions, while his father makes taxing the wealthy a centerpiece of his re-election campaign.
It also brings back a slew of tawdry details during Hunter's battle with addiction. It includes $683,212 in 'Payments – Diverse Women', $10,000 for purchase when joining a 'sex club', along with fast cars and luxury hotels like the Chateau Marmont.
“Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything except his taxes,” according to the indictment.
Although prosecutors went after Hunter on tax charges and not other forms of financial impropriety alleged by House Republicans, the indictment begins with a recitation of some of his foreign business dealings, including his board membership of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma and the dealings with the Chinese CEFC Energy. Co. Ltd.
That comes despite Biden's own comments in 2020: “My son hasn't made any money in terms of, what are you talking about, China…
He also denied during a September 2020 debate that Hunter “made a fortune in China, in Moscow and several other places.”
Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowell released a blistering statement saying that special counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee brought in by AG Merrick Garland, was “'due to Republican pressure' and walked away from a plea deal.
“If Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been filed,” he said.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who led the impeachment inquiry, continues to explore his theories about political influence and has arranged new testimony from a few Tax authorities whistleblowers.
The impeachment resolution the House will vote on next week provides for hearings and a report, and could expand existing subpoena power with the potential to surface new or damaging information.
“The impeachment inquiry strengthens our hand as we go to court against this administration or anyone who refuses our subpoena,” Comer said.
An in-depth impeachment inquiry could involve extensive investigations, hearings, a vote in the House of Representatives and a possible trial, all amid the turmoil of a presidential campaign.
In recent months, there has been resistance among even some Republicans in the House of Representatives, who have warned of the dangers of political overreach. But that could melt away as the election approaches and as former President Donald Trump, who spent years campaigning on Hunter's business ventures, moves closer to seizing the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
The White House declined comment and referred questions to the Justice Department and Hunter Biden's representatives.
Biden's only statement Friday morning was about the economy creating 199,000 jobs in November, for a total of 14 million jobs since taking office — amid polls that continue to show Americans worried about the economy and inflation.
“That's more than 14 million additional Americans who know the dignity and peace of mind that comes with a paycheck,” Biden said.