Prosecutors are holding off on a final decision on whether to bring a case against President Biden’s son, Hunter, while they review defense evidence in the long-running investigation, people familiar with the matter said.
Investigators for months have believed there is enough evidence to charge the younger Biden with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun he purchased, and had expected a case to be brought by the end of the summer, the people said.
Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, which has been leading the investigation, are struggling with whether certain facts, such as his well-documented drug addiction, would present a defense against a potential criminal tax case, the people said. Hunter Biden’s defense team met with Justice Department prosecutors in recent weeks, trying to counter the government’s potential case, some of the people said.
The decision of whether to bring any charges would be up to prosecutors, who must assess whether they think that evidence is strong enough to win a conviction at trial.
The White House referred questions about the younger Biden to the Justice Department. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
“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 defense,” Biden’s attorney Chris Clark said in a written statement.
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.
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