in US Politics

Biden presents new defense chief as son Hunter reveals his taxes are being investigated – live

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  • 4.50pm EST16:50
    House passes one-week spending bill


  • 3.56pm EST15:56
    Hunter Biden says his tax affairs are being investigated


  • 3.15pm EST15:15
    Fresh efforts to break up Facebook


  • 2.39pm EST14:39
    Pennsylvania governor tests positive for coronavirus


  • 2.08pm EST14:08
    Austin: ‘I come to this new role as a civilian leader’


  • 1.47pm EST13:47
    Biden formally introduces defense secretary nominee


  • 1.13pm EST13:13
    Kamala Harris named third most powerful woman in the world






4.50pm EST16:50

House passes one-week spending bill

The House has passed a bill to fund the government for another week, through December 18, by a vote of 343 to 67.

House Press Gallery
(@HouseDailyPress)

H.R. 8900 – Further Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2021, and Other Extensions Act passed by a vote of 343-67.

December 9, 2020

If the bill is also passed by the Senate, it will allow the government to avoid a shutdown on Friday night, when funding is currently set to run out.

The legislation would also give lawmakers additional time to reach an agreement on an omnibus spending bill and a coronavirus relief package.

It’s still unclear whether Congress will be able to strike a deal on coronavirus relief before lawmakers leave for the holidays. There are lingering disagreements over liability protections for employers and state and local funding.






4.43pm EST16:43

CNN has more details on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes:


After pausing in the months before the election, federal authorities are now actively investigating the business dealings of Hunter Biden, a person with knowledge of the probe says. His father the President-elect is not implicated.

Now that the election is over, the investigation is entering a new phase. Federal prosecutors in Delaware, working with the IRS Criminal Investigation agency and the FBI, are taking overt steps such as issuing subpoenas and seeking interviews, the person with knowledge says.

Activity in the investigation had been largely dormant in recent months due to Justice Department guidelines prohibiting overt actions that could affect an election, the person said. …

Investigators have been examining multiple financial issues, including whether Hunter Biden and associates violated tax and money laundering laws in business dealings in foreign countries, principally China, according to two people briefed on the probe.

Some of those transactions involved people who the FBI believe sparked counterintelligence concerns, a common issue when dealing with Chinese business, according to another source.






4.33pm EST16:33

According to CNN, the investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes started in 2018 and is focused on his business dealings in China.

The investigation was put on hold in the immediate run-up to the presidential election because of department policy about not affecting elections, but investigators took additional steps after the race concluded last month.

Shimon Prokupecz
(@ShimonPro)

Here are some more details as @evanperez reported. – Investigation started back in 2018 – Has to do with business dealings in China. -Investigation was put on hold around the election because of DOJ policy. -New investigative actions began after the election.

December 9, 2020






4.29pm EST16:29

CNN reporter Evan Perez said he had been in contact with Hunter Biden’s legal team in the last few days to discuss investigative steps being taken in connection to the president-elect’s son.

Biden’s attorneys did not get back to CNN before the transition team released its own statement today announcing the investigation.

Kaitlan Collins
(@kaitlancollins)

On CNN, @evanperez says they’d been in contact with Hunter Biden’s attorney in the last few days about reporting on the investigative steps being taken regarding the president-elect’s son. His attorneys said they wold get back to them but instead issued statement via transition.

December 9, 2020






4.20pm EST16:20

Hunter Biden was a frequent target of attack for Donald Trump and his allies in the months leading up to the presidential election.

During his final campaign rallies, the president repeatedly (and falsely) referred to the Biden family as “a criminal enterprise”.

Following news of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes, one Republican congressman called on attorney general William Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the president-elect’s son.

Congressman Ken Buck
(@RepKenBuck)

This is why AG Barr needs to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate Hunter Biden. It would be wildly inappropriate if his dad’s AG was involved in this matter. https://t.co/RUYVAyARE3

December 9, 2020

Updated
at 4.47pm EST






4.11pm EST16:11

According to NBC News, Hunter Biden and his ex-wife had an IRS lien against them for unpaid taxes of $112,805.09 up until March of this year, but it’s unclear whether the newly announced investigation is in connection to that.

Tom Winter
(@Tom_Winter)

MORE: Up until March 20th of this year Hunter and his former wife Kathleen Buhle had an IRS lean against them for taxes not paid in the total of $112,805.09, according to publicly available documents.

It is unknown if the tax lean is connected to the investigation. https://t.co/7BvjgaOHul

December 9, 2020






3.56pm EST15:56

Hunter Biden says his tax affairs are being investigated

Joe Biden’s transition team has just released a statement from the president-elect’s son, Hunter Biden, saying his tax affairs are being investigated by federal prosecutors.

“I learned yesterday for the first time that the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” the younger Biden said.

“I take this matter very seriously but 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.”

The transition also issued its own statement noting that the president-elect “is deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger”.

Updated
at 4.42pm EST






3.40pm EST15:40

Some Republican senators have said they are open to supporting Doug Jones if Joe Biden nominates him to become attorney general.

Igor Bobic
(@igorbobic)

Shelby tells me he would support Jones as AG if Biden taps him.

“He’d probably get a bigger vote than anybody nominated,” he says

December 9, 2020

When asked about Jones’ possible nomination, Ted Cruz replied, “I’ll assess every nominee on the merits.”

Richard Shelby of Alabama added, “He’d probably get a bigger vote than anybody nominated.”

Jones lost his bid to serve a full term in the Senate last month, but he is now the frontrunner to become attorney general, according to multiple reports.

Updated
at 3.41pm EST






3.15pm EST15:15

Fresh efforts to break up Facebook

Joanna Walters

The US Federal Trade Commission and a big coalition of states sued Facebook this afternoon, saying that the huge social media company broke US antitrust law.

The FTC said in a statement that it would seek an injunction that “could, among other things: require divestitures of assets, including Instagram and WhatsApp.”

In its complaint, the coalition of 46 states, Washington DC and the territory of Guam also asked for Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to be judged to be illegal.

The antitrust lawsuits were announced by the FTC, the federal regulators, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“It’s really critically important that we block this predatory acquisition of companies and that we restore confidence to the market,” James said during a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Reuters and the Associated Press report.

In its lawsuit, the FTC is seeking the separation of the services from Facebook, saying Facebook has engaged in a “a systematic strategy” to eliminate its competition, including by purchasing smaller up-and-coming rivals like Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.

James echoed that in her press conference, saying Facebook “used its monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users.”

Facebook is the world’s biggest social network with 2.7 billion users and a company with a market value of nearly $800bn whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the world’s fifth-richest individual and the most public face of “Big Tech” swagger.

Facebook did not have immediate comment.

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