Attorney General William Barr reportedly worked to keep investigations involving Hunter Biden’s business affairs out of the public’s view during the 2020 election.
A source told the Wall Street Journal that Barr knew since the spring about federal investigations centered in Delaware and Manhattan looking into Biden’s business and financial dealings. This was around the time his father, former Vice President Joe Biden, became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
The news comes shortly after reports said Barr plans to stay at the Justice Department until President Trump’s term ends in January, tamping down speculation that he wants to step down early.
Neither inquiry is said to implicate the elder Biden, but Justice Department guidelines advise against overt investigatory actions that could disrupt an election. Still, Republicans have long called for investigations into Hunter Biden, and such a demand by Trump to Ukraine’s president even paved the way to impeachment.
The report said Barr has resisted demands by Republicans in Congress for information on any investigations involving Hunter Biden. In the final weeks leading up to the election, which Joe Biden won, there had been scarce reporting on federal investigatory action related to his son, but there was a great deal of coverage dedicated to the controversy surrounding Trump allies’ efforts to draw attention to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and potential for the involvement of a foreign disinformation campaign.
The Justice Department did not return the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on the report.
In a statement shared in a Wednesday press release from the Biden transition team, which announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware reached out to Hunter Biden’s legal counsel the day before, the younger Biden said, “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.”