Allies of Hunter Biden think the president’s son may need a legal defense fund to raise money for his attorneys as he faces new Republican investigations on top of existing legal troubles.
The need for fundraising comes as Hunter Biden seeks a more aggressive legal strategy but has limited resources to pursue it, anonymous sources familiar with the matter told the Washington Post.
Legal defense funds are often set up in high-profile cases so the public can donate money to pay attorneys’ fees. Transparency is often lacking in the funds’ financial disclosures, and they are regulated by few federal rules, the Post reported.
Hunter Biden’s current legal debt is thought to stretch well into the millions of dollars, according to three people familiar with his situation. In a September court filing in a paternity case, his lawyer called for child support payments to be reduced due to “a substantial material change in [Biden’s] financial circumstances, including but not limited to his income,” the Post reported.
House Republicans are expected to hold their first public hearing Feb. 8 in a long-anticipated push for Biden family investigations, USA Today reported. Aside from that, federal agents already have enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes and lying on gun purchase paperwork, the Post reported, and a former stripper is suing him for child support and the right to give their child the Biden name.
The embattled son of President Joe Biden currently has no steady source of income, the Post reported, after previously founding an investment management firm headquartered in China and serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. He embarked on a painting career, but some buyers have backed out of deals, fearing political consequences, according to the Post.
Discussions of a legal defense fund or other fundraising methods are still in a preliminary phase, according to three people familiar with the talks. It’s still unknown who would run the fund and how it would be managed.
