(GEORGIA) — Allegations of election fraud against two Georgia election workers who became the subjects of a Trump-backed conspiracy theory in the aftermath of the 2020 election were found to be “false and unsubstantiated,” according to an investigative report released Tuesday by the Georgia Elections Board.
Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, both former election workers from Fulton County, faced threats of violence from conspiracy theorists after their election-night conduct on a polling place livestream proliferated online among right-wing election deniers who believed Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
In one video clip, online commentators accused Freeman of handling a suitcase of fraudulent or stolen ballots.
“The suitcases they claim we had were issued ballot boxes that we use every election,” Moss explained on an episode of ABC News’ IMPACT x Nightline last November.
Another clip showed Freeman handing her daughter a small item, imperceptible on the grainy livestream footage, that led some online commentators to accuse the two of exchanging a USB drive, which was allegedly meant to somehow manipulate votes. Freeman said it was just ginger mints that she kept in her purse.
The following week, Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, appeared before a committee of the Georgia state legislature to advocate for their intervention in the electoral college certification — and told the legislators that a video circulating online showed “Ruby Freeman and Shaye Freeman Moss … quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports, as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine.”
Testifying last year in the House select committee’s Jan. 6 hearings, Freeman said, “I’ve lost my name and I’ve lost my reputation, I’ve lost my sense of security, all because a group of people starting with No. 45 and his ally Rudy Giuliani decided to scapegoat me and my daughter Shaye, to push their own lies about how the presidential election was stolen.”
Freeman told ABC News’ Terry Moran that she subsequently received so much harassment from conspiracy theorists that she was forced to pack up and leave the suburban Atlanta home where she lived for 20 years.
As part of their probe, Georgia Elections Board investigators interviewed a social media user who “admitted he created a fake account and confirmed the content that was posted on the account was fake,” the new report said.
“We are glad the State Election Board finally put this issue to rest,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement following the release of the report.
“False claims and knowingly false allegations made against these election workers have done tremendous harm,” Raffensperger said. “Election workers deserve our praise for being on the front lines.”
(NEW YORK) — An “Abolition Amendment” was introduced in Congress last week that would eliminate the so-called slavery loophole in the U.S. Constitution.
Ratified in 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, “except as punishment for crime.” That exception is what three Democratic members of Congress – Rep. Nikema Williams of Georgia, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon – are seeking to eliminate with their new amendment.
In a statement to ABC News, Booker said, the exception “has allowed our government to exploit individuals who are incarcerated and to profit from their forced labor.”
The United States incarcerates more of its population than any other country, including a disproportionate number of Black Americans.
Rep. Nikema Williams spoke to ABC News’ Kanya Whitworth about the amendment proposed ahead of Juneteenth, which marks the day when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free.
KANYA WHITWORTH: Before we get into some of the specifics of the abolition amendment, could you reflect on today’s federal holiday, Juneteenth? An important moment that we recognize as a nation?
NIKEMA WILLIAMS: I mean, a very important moment. I was just looking at – one of the things that is good about social media is you get memories from the years in the past. And I served in the state Senate before I was in Congress, and I saw where I filed legislation in Georgia to make Juneteenth a state holiday to replace our Confederate memorial holiday.
And I couldn’t even get a hearing for my bill. And now here we are, three short years later, and it’s a federal holiday. So, this is a day that we should all celebrate, the progress of Black Americans, formerly enslaved people in this country, and one step closer to recognizing the full history of our country and the struggles that formerly enslaved people went through, including my ancestors. And so today is a day of celebration, but still so much more work to be done.
WHITWORTH: And commemoration, of course. And you’ve teamed up with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley to try to change the language of the Constitution, specifically removing what has been called the slavery loophole from the 13th Amendment. What exactly is the language you want to change there?
WILLIAMS: That’s exactly right. So as we’re commemorating Juneteenth, when every enslaved person learned that they were actually free in this country after slavery had already been abolished, one thing that most Americans probably don’t even know is that we still have an exception clause in the U.S. Constitution and the 13th Amendment that allows slavery for punishment for a crime.
So the 13th Amendment states that slavery is abolished, except for punishment for a crime. And so, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Jeff Merkley and I are working to change the U.S. Constitution once and for all.
This is bicameral legislation. It is bipartisan legislation. And we’re going to keep doing the work to make sure that once and for all, we remove slavery from our U.S. Constitution.
WHITWORTH: And we know the U.S. incarcerates more of its population than any other country and that includes a disproportionate number of Black Americans. Practically speaking, how would this amendment help address mass incarceration?
WILLIAMS: So right now, we have nearly 2 million incarcerated people in this country who are subject to forced labor, to slavery, and it is legalized based on our U.S. Constitution. We saw seven states who have already ratified their state constitutions to get rid of this, including states that don’t have a lot in common.
If you’re looking at it from a political sense, like Alabama and Colorado, Nebraska and Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont, these are states that have already ratified their constitution to make sure that that we can change the slavery loophole in the [U.S.] Constitution. So what is happening right now is we can have forced labor legally for punishment for a crime.
Right now, we have to make, we have to get this through Congress. We need two-thirds of a vote in both chambers. So we have a lot of work ahead of us. But the more we tell the story, the more we educate people, the more – regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, which part of the country you’re from – the more people are coming on board to say that we need to end the exception once and for all for slavery.
WHITWORTH: Congresswoman, you were elected to fill the Georgia seat left by the late congressman and civil rights icon, John Lewis. Can you talk to us about how you try to keep the legacy of “good trouble” alive?
WILLIAMS: So, Congressman Lewis taught us that we have an obligation, a moral obligation to find a way to get in the way. And each day, when I step into the halls of the U.S. Congress, when I walk through a Capitol that was built by enslaved people, I know that I have a legacy to uphold. I know that the people of Georgia’s 5th District, we call ourselves “The Fighting Fifth” down here in Georgia.
We have work to do to make sure that everyone has not only free and fair access to the ballot, but equality and justice for everyone in this country. And I have this constant reminder. I was able to know Congressman Lewis personally.
My husband worked for him for many years. And so I have the blueprint, and it’s up to me to continue to do the work. Each generation has to pick up the baton and take us one step closer to full equality for everyone in this country. Congressman Lewis paved the way, and it’s my turn to do my part of the job.
WHITWORTH: And you clearly are energized to do that. Our thanks to you, Congresswoman Williams.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump “has a prolific history of baselessly accusing state and federal judges around the country of bias” and there’s no reason the judge overseeing his criminal prosecution in New York should recuse himself from the case, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Tuesday in response to a court filing by Trump’s attorneys.
Trump earlier this month filed a motion seeking the recusal of New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case in which Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to a hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Trump is arguing that the judge is biased because his daughter works for a company aligned with Democrats.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office portrays the recusal as unnecessary.
“Recusal would facilitate an apparent effort by defendant to select his own judge and would encourage other litigants to adopt the same approach,” prosecutors said in their court filing Tuesday. “The motion to recuse should be denied.”
The defense has argued that the judge’s daughter would have a financial stake in the outcome of the case and the rulings her father makes — but prosecutors said that’s insufficient to warrant his stepping aside.
“Recusal is required only where there exists a direct, personal, substantial or pecuniary interest in reaching a particular conclusion,” prosecutors said. “There must be concrete proof of such a direct interest; speculative claims of potential bias are insufficient to warrant recusal.”
Trump also argued that the judge “pushed” former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to plead guilty in his criminal case last summer. Prosecutors said it was Weisselberg who initiated plea talks, and any involvement by Judge Merchan has no bearing on a wholly different case.
“The Court’s participation in plea discussions involving Mr. Weisselberg was completely proper and displayed no favoritism or antagonism toward any party,” prosecutors said.
Trump is also trying to steer his prosecution away from Merchan by simultaneously working to move the case to federal court. A hearing on that is scheduled for next week.
(CHICAGO) — More than 70 people were shot, 13 fatally, in Chicago over the holiday weekend, including a father of four who was gunned down at a large family Father’s Day park gathering, according to police.
The violence over the Father’s Day and Juneteenth holidays also left a number of teenagers injured, including a 14-year-old boy who died after being shot multiple times on a street in the Garfield Park neighborhood on the city’s West Side, according to a review by ABC News of weekend incident reports from the Chicago Police Department.
Police officials said at least 75 people were shot across the city in 51 separate incidents that occurred between 6 p.m. on Friday and 11:59 p.m. on Monday.
“Every time I read and hear about another life that is lost because of violence, my heart breaks,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said at a news conference on Monday. “Fifteen-year-olds, 14-year-olds, you all know I’m raising children in Chicago. It hurts.”
The series of shootings came amid declines in both homicides and shootings this year in Chicago compared to 2022. Prior to the weekend, homicides in Chicago were down 7% from the 257 slayings that occurred in the first half of 2022, according to the Chicago Police Department’s crime statistics. Shooting incidents are also down 5% this year compared to this time last year, the crime data shows.
This weekend’s shootings marked one of the most violent holiday weekends this year in Chicago, surpassing Memorial Day weekend when 53 people were shot, 11 fatally, in 42 separate incidents across the city, according to police. At least 31 people were shot last weekend in Chicago, four fatally, in 26 separate incidents, police said.
Father’s Day park shooting
Among those killed this weekend was a 32-year-old father of four, identified as Brian Ross, who was shot to death along with another man during a large family Father’s Day gathering at Smith Park in the Roseland community. Ross’ relatives told ABC station WLS in Chicago that the gunshots were fired from a passing car, killing Ross and the 37-year-old victim, whose name was not immediately released.
“They literally stopped where they were at, opened fire on them, didn’t care about the kids being around or nothing. And, by the grace of God, no kids get hit,” Ross’ wife, Kandace Ross, said. “They didn’t care about nothing or nobody because there were kids out there. There were women out there, there were grandmas, anybody. They just came and just shot it up just so they can, I don’t know, brag about it.”
Cmdr. Tyrone Pendarvis of the Chicago Police Department said the shooting unfolded just before 8 p.m. and that in addition to the two men gunned down, three others were hit by gunfire and treated at a hospital.
“It’s unfortunate today that this occurred because it was a fine day and people just enjoying their family activity, but violence prevails in the city and it’s unfortunate that these five individuals were shot,” Pendarvis said at a news conference.
Car-to-car gunfire
One man was killed and three others were wounded in a shooting Monday in the Ashburn neighborhood on the city’s South Side, police said. The victims were riding in a car when gunmen in another vehicle headed in the opposite direction opened fire, police said. A 20-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
The three other victims, including a 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man, were struck by bullets and treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center, according to police. Four guns were recovered at the scene, but no arrests were announced.
Also on Monday, a 32-year-old man was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital after being shot multiple times while driving through the West Garfield neighborhood on the city’s West Side at about 7:25 a.m., according to police. The circumstances of the shooting remained under investigation Tuesday and no arrests have been announced.
Fight prompts fatal shooting
Four men were shot, one fatally, in the Austin neighborhood early Sunday after a fight broke out and a fifth man fighting pulled and gun and opened fire, according to police. The shooting occurred just before 3 a.m. in the Austin neighborhood of the city’s West Side. The victim who died, a 31-year-old man, was shot multiple times and taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. No arrests were announced.
Among others fatal shootings victims over the weekend were a 48-year-old man, who was discovered Saturday with a gunshot wound to the head in the Woodlawn section of the city’s South Side, and a 58-year-old man who was shot and pronounced dead at the scene also on the city’s South Side, police said.
A 32-year-old man was fatally shot just after 11 p.m. on Sunday in the vestibule of a fast-food restaurant in the West Pullman neighborhood of the city’s South Side when he got into a physical altercation with the unidentified man who shot him. No arrests have been announced.
(NEW YORK) — Four people were killed and two others remain in critical condition after a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery broke out in an e-bike repair shop and tore through a New York City building overnight, authorities said.
Reports of smoke and fire coming from the Manhattan building, which has an e-bike repair shop on the ground floor and residential units above it, came in just after midnight Tuesday, New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
Firefighters pulled six residents from the building in critical condition, though four have since died, Kavanagh said. One firefighter suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
“It is very clear that this was caused by lithium-ion batteries and e-bikes,” Kavanagh said at a press briefing Tuesday near a pile of charred and mangled rubber, bicycle frames and electrical components.
Information on the victims has not yet been released.
Following the fire, which occurred in lower Manhattan near Chinatown, the Red Cross said it was providing emergency housing to eight households — including 23 adults and two children.
The location — HQ E-Bike Repair — was known to the fire department, which had cited it for violations in 2021 and 2022, fire officials said.
HQ E-Bike Repair was cited for multiple fire code violations in August 2022, found guilty and fined $1,600, according to Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn. The violations were related to the charging of and number of batteries at the location, he said.
The officials recently did surveillance at the property and found violations regarding the number of batteries, Flynn said.
Kavanagh stressed the danger associated with e-bike fires, which she described as more akin to an “explosion” than a “smoldering fire.”
“The sheer volume of fire is incredibly dangerous,” she said. “We’ve said this over and over — it can make it nearly impossible to get out in time.”
Including Tuesday’s incident, there have been 108 fires related to lithium-ion batteries this year in New York City, resulting in 13 fatalities, according to Kavanagh. By this time last year, the city had two fatalities from similar incidents, she said.
The mayor’s office recently enacted e-bike safety legislation that, among other measures, bans the resale of bikes or batteries and restricts the reconditioning of used batteries. Though some 65,000 e-bikes were purchased before the law took effect in New York.
“So even as we regulate them, we have to make sure we’re getting the word out about how dangerous these unregulated bikes are and the fact that they are here already in the city,” Kavanagh said.
(WASHINGTON) — It seems clear from his comments over the years that the fatherly relationship Joe Biden has with his son Hunter outweighs concerns about appearances and political implications.
Biden has long maintained he was confident Hunter, 53, one of his two surviving children, had done nothing nefarious amid a federal investigation into the younger Biden’s tax affairs and overseas business dealings.
“First of all, my son’s done nothing wrong,” Biden told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle last month as prosecutors neared the end of their probe. “I trust him. I have faith in him. And it impacts my presidency by making me feel proud of him.”
On Tuesday, Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors, potentially bringing an end to the probe. The younger Biden will acknowledge failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018, and struck a deal with prosecutors regarding a felony charge related to illegal possession of a firearm.
The development comes just as President Biden has begun campaigning for a second term, and as congressional Republicans attempt at every turn to paint the first family as corrupt.
The charges are unlikely to satisfy those in the GOP who’ve been laser-focused on targeting what they call, without providing evidence, the “Biden crime family” and those lashing out at what they perceive to be a two-tiered system of justice in the wake of Donald Trump’s indictments.
The White House had largely avoided commenting on the investigation carried out by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee, but maintained the president and his son never discussed the latter’s business dealings.
After news broke Tuesday of Hunter Biden’s plea agreement, White House spokesperson Ian Sams released a short statement.
“The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” Sams said. “We will have no further comment.”
The administration had previously emphasized neither President Biden nor the White House had discussed the probe with the Justice Department, and Attorney General Merrick Garland said as recently as March prosecutors were operating free from any interference.
“That’s a matter that’s going to be decided by the Justice Department, by the legal process,” White House chief of staff Ron Klain said on ABC’s This Week in April 2022. “It’s something that no one at the White House has involvement in.”
The investigation began in 2018 and became public in December 2020, just after Biden became president-elect. At the time, Biden’s transition team released a statement saying Biden remained “deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”
The president commented on the issue only a handful of times since then, each time coming to the younger Biden’s defense and occasionally bristling at questions and accusations about his son’s conduct.
“I’m confident that he is — what he says, and does, are consistent with what happens,” Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in October 2022. “And, for example, he wrote a book about his problems, and was straightforward about it. I’m proud of him.”
In his 2021 memoir Beautiful Things, Hunter Biden detailed his struggle with drug addiction (which he said entered a darker phase after the death of his brother Beau Biden from brain cancer in 2015) his relationships with his family and his attempt to build a successful business career while sharing a name with his influential father.
Hunter Biden described when his father came to check on him during one of his benders, writing: “”He looked aghast at what he saw. He asked if I was okay and I told him, sure, I was fine. ‘I know you’re not fine, Hunter,’ he said, studying me, scanning the apartment. ‘You need help.’ I looked into my dad’s eyes and saw an expression of despair, an expression of fear.”
Hunter Biden has been visible at recent White House events, appearing at his father’s side at a state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron and at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington. He also accompanied President Biden during his trip to Ireland.
When asked by CBS News’ 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley last September if any of Hunter Biden’s troubles have caused “conflicts for you or for the United States,” Biden said no.
“I love my son, number one. He fought– an addiction problem,” Biden responded. “He overcame it. He wrote about it. And no, there’s not a single thing that I’ve observed at all from th– that would affect me or the United States relative to my son Hunter.
It remains to be seen how the charges against him will impact President Biden’s reelection bid.
House Republicans have used their majority to launch an investigation and hold various hearings into Hunter Biden’s private dealings. House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., vowed Tuesday to continue those efforts.
Trump — who faces multiple legal troubles of his own, including federal charges for his alleged mishandling of classified documents — on Tuesday alleged Hunter Biden was slapped with “a mere ‘traffic ticket.”
“Our system is BROKEN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
President Biden’s last presidential campaign, too, faced swirling questions about his son and then Republicans were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempt to tie Biden to his son in the minds of voters.
In an effort to diffuse scandals burgeoning during the 2020 presidential campaign, the younger Biden gave some personal interviews discussing his addiction struggles and his past relationships, including one with his brother’s widow Hallie.
Hunter Biden, in a 2019 sit down with ABC News, defended the ethical implications of his private business dealings but conceded a misstep in failing to foresee the political implications on his father’s career.
“In retrospect, look, I think that it was poor judgment on my part. Is that I think that it was poor judgment because I don’t believe now, when I look back on it — I know that there was — did nothing wrong at all,” Hunter Biden said. “However, was it poor judgment to be in the middle of something that is…a swamp in many ways? Yeah.”
(SAN DIEGO) — Michael Quan was just 36 when he retired. Today, the father of two from San Diego is 46 and living a life of his choosing, having achieved his goal of financial independence.
“The goal wasn’t necessarily to retire super early. It was to really get to a place of financial independence or financial freedom where I didn’t have to work for money, where I could ultimately choose what I want to do with my time,” Quan told Good Morning America.
To achieve his goal, Quan started investing when he was 26, learning to make passive income from his uncles who had business and real estate investments.
“I was like, ‘You know what? That’s great. You get to focus on what really matters to you most and you get to be super intentional with your life,'” Quan said he remembered thinking at the time.
Quan adopted the F.I.R.E. method, short for “Financial Independence, Retire Early,” and began aggressively saving his salary. He started investing early, in his 20s, before he married and had children. He was also diligent and intentional from the get-go and was active and investing over time.
But instead of putting all his eggs in one basket, Quan invested his money into various stocks and index funds and his money grew over the years.
“I just started investing in the stock market and spending $5 a week, investing into stocks and so that really got me interested into building a portfolio at a young age, even before I started my company,” Quan said.
While working full time, Quan began to build an information technology consulting business that then led him to diversify his investments even more.
“Because I was building a business, I had the opportunity to cash out some of that equity and put that into real estate,” Quan said.
Quan worked on building his business for a decade until he received an unsolicited offer to buy out his company.
“I decided, I have a unique opportunity to be home and present with the kids. I have a lot of shots to build another business but only one shot at being a great dad,” Quan recalled thinking at the time.
Quan, who wrote a guide called The F.I.R.E. Planner, said one of the key tips he recommends to find success with the F.I.R.E. method is to embrace the right mindset.
“A lot of times, we are taught in school that you go out, you get a job, and then you work [a] traditional 9 to 5 job. And while that can work for some people, a lot of times, we feel trapped because we get into debt that society tells us is OK to finance your future. And if you remove that idea, you get back to a different belief that ‘Hey, I can actually build wealth over time slowly and it doesn’t have to be painful,'” Quan said. “It’s really the mindset that is the start. Once you have a belief and once you have the action, you’ll get the result.”
For example, if you think about building wealth over time slowly instead of trying to finance your future and set it up to be automatic, such as with automatic deposits into a 401(k) or an individual retirement account, you’re more likely to succeed at building a nest egg.
Another way Quan has achieved financial freedom without working is by relying on passive income, which offers a steady flow of cash with minimal upkeep. Popular passive income sources include investments, side hustles or high-yield savings accounts, where the majority of the work happens during the set-up process. Another way to generate passive income is to rent out high-value items you already have, such as your home, garage, power tools or even your pool for a day through services like Airbnb, VRBO or Peerspace.
Today, Quan said he uses the term “early retirement” in a loose way since he still works on different passion projects, such as financial coaching.
“I don’t think I’ll ever go back to work in a 9 to 5. What I will do though, is never stop working,” Quan said. “I get to work on incredible things. I love personal development and really helping other people. So I’ll definitely take on some coaching clients occasionally to help them in their journey. And then I’ve been doing some public speaking as well and going out and sharing with university kids or going to conferences and speaking.”
(WASHINGTON) — Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security John Tien is retiring from the Department, he announced in an internal message to department staff on Tuesday.
Tien, an Army veteran who served three tours of duty, including in Operation Desert Storm, is leaving the Department on July 20, according to the message.
“After 26 years of combined federal service including three combat tours in Iraq and living apart from my family for the last two years, I have decided to return to Atlanta to re-join them there,” Tien said to the Department workforce in an email. “When I depart from DHS on July 20, 2023, I will most fondly remember what the Secretary and I tried to do for the workforce to vastly improve the lives of our fellow employees in terms of pay, training, facilities, and technology support, all essential to improving morale.”
The outgoing deputy secretary served in the military for 24 years after graduating from West Point with the school’s highest honor.
Tien is also one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans in the Biden administration. He spoke about it to ABC News last month.
“As a first-generation Asian American, I know that I’ve got a responsibility to be both seen and heard,” he explained in May.
In a message to the workforce obtained by ABC News, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called Tien a “patriot.”
“On behalf of 260,000 of us throughout the Department of Homeland Security — across the country and around the world — I express our profound thanks to him for making our Department and all of us the beneficiaries of his dedication to country and qualities as a person for the past two years,” Mayorkas said.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for World Food Program USA
(NEW YORK) — Hunter Biden, the president’s son, has agreed to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and enter a deferred prosecution program for one felony gun possession charge, which would potentially end a yearslong probe, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Biden will acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018, according to the agreement. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend probation, meaning he will likely avoid prison time. For the gun charge, he will agree to pretrial diversion, with the charge being dropped if he adheres to certain terms.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 20, 10:45 AM EDT
AG Garland declines to comment, left decision on deal to Weiss
A spokesperson for Attorney General Merrick Garland declined to comment when asked about the plea deal reached with Hunter Biden.
Garland is currently overseas in Stockholm, Sweden for the EU/US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting.
The decision to enter this deal was entirely left to U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ discretion, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Garland has previously told Congress that Weiss had full authority to bring whatever charges he may deem proper in accordance with DOJ’s guidelines.
He has also testified repeatedly that Weiss’ investigation has remained free from any improper political interference, which he affirmed in a press conference last month when asked about allegations by a purported IRS whistleblower who has sought to alert congressional leaders about potential misconduct in DOJ’s handling of the probe.
-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin
Jun 20, 10:33 AM EDT
Republicans on Capitol Hill vow to continue investigation into Bidens
While the federal investigation is over, the investigations will continue on Capitol Hill. The investigative committees have indicated they intend to keep pursuing Hunter Biden’s business dealings in foreign countries and whether he was trading on his family name.
The chair of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, R-Ky., issued a statement saying this reveals a “two-tiered system of Justice” and calls it just a “slap on the wrist.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted it was a “stunt” to make Hunter Biden “look like he is just cooperating with DOJ.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders
Jun 20, 10:21 AM EDT
Trump calls plea agreement ‘a mere traffic ticket’
Former President Donald Trump, who was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and could face him again in 2024, has posted to his Truth Social, calling the plea agreement “a mere ‘traffic ticket'” and saying “Our system is broken.”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., called it a “sweetheart deal” and added, “The American people need President Trump back in office to appoint a truly independent special prosecutor that will finally bring justice.”
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim
Jun 20, 10:16 AM EDT
President, first lady say they ‘love’ and ‘support’ son
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have released a statement through a spokesperson supporting their son.
“The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” White House spokesperson Ian Sam said in a statement. “We will have no further comment.”
Jun 20, 10:08 AM EDT
Plea agreement could end yearslong probe
Federal authorities with the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump-era appointee, opened their investigation into Hunter Biden in 2018. The investigation spilled into public view in December of 2020, shortly after Joe Biden secured the presidency, when Hunter Biden confirmed the probe into his “tax affairs.”
Prosecutors have since examined a range of potential crimes as part of their investigation and brought several witnesses before a federal grand jury empaneled in Wilmington, Delaware.
The impetus for the probe and investigators’ primary focus was whether Hunter Biden paid adequate taxes on millions of dollars of his income. The younger Biden paid off at least one significant tax liability of nearly $2 million in 2021 with the help of a Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer name Kevin Morris, ABC News has reported.
Beyond his taxes, investigators scrutinized a gun application form signed by Hunter Biden in 2018. On the form, he checked a box indicating he was not an “unlawful user” of drugs, despite later acknowledging that he was indeed addicted to crack cocaine around that time, ABC News has reported.
A Yale-trained lawyer, Hunter Biden repeatedly said he was cooperating with investigators and remained “100% certain” that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. Joe Biden has said he’s never spoken to his son about his foreign business and recently said Hunter Biden “has done nothing wrong.” There are no indications that the federal investigation involved the president in any way.
The White House has repeatedly sought to distance the president from the probe, and Attorney General Merrick Garland assured Congress that there would not be “interference of any political or improper kind.”
Jun 20, 10:05 AM EDT
Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax charges, enter pretrial program for gun charge
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors as part of a deal that would potentially end a politically fraught and yearslong probe into his personal and professional life, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Under an agreement negotiated with the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, the younger Biden, 53, will acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend probation, meaning he will likely avoid prison time.
The agreement also includes what is known as a pretrial diversion for one felony count related to illegal possession of a firearm, which would not require Hunter Biden to submit a plea on that charge and stipulates that prosecutors would agree to drop it if he adheres to certain terms over a specified period of time.
If a federal judge accepts the deal, Tuesday’s development would mark the conclusion of an investigation that has dogged not only Hunter Biden, but also his father, whose political foes have latched onto the younger Biden’s overseas business dealings to level allegations depicting the entire Biden family as corrupt.
(WASHINGTON) — News that President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has agreed to a plea deal regarding a pair of tax-related misdemeanors follows a five-year Justice Department probe into the younger Biden’s finances and comes as a GOP-led congressional panel investigates what House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer says are the Biden family’s “shady business deals.”
After years of largely avoiding public confrontations about his business dealings, Hunter Biden earlier this year engaged a new legal team to undertake a more aggressive legal tack, making private citizen criminal referrals and sending cease-and-desist letters involving some of his most vocal critics.
Here’s a look at the various investigations into the president’s son:
Justice Department probe
Federal authorities with the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump-era appointee, had been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018, but the probe was temporarily paused for several months ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
The investigation spilled into public view in December of 2020, shortly after Joe Biden secured the presidency, when Hunter Biden confirmed the probe into his “tax affairs.” Prosecutors have examined whether he paid adequate taxes on millions of dollars of his income, including money he made from multiple overseas business ventures.
Prosecutors also explored allegations that Hunter Biden lied about his drug use on a gun application form in 2018, despite later acknowledging that he was addicted to drugs around that time.
ABC News has previously reported that the younger Biden borrowed $2 million from his lawyer and confidant Kevin Morris to pay the IRS for back taxes, penalties and liens that he owed.
A grand jury empaneled in Delaware reportedly heard testimony from multiple witnesses over the course of their probe, including some of Hunter Biden’s business partners and a woman who had a child by Hunter Biden out of wedlock.
The younger Biden, a Yale-trained lawyer, has said he is cooperating with investigators and remained “100% certain” that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. President Biden has said he and his son never discussed his foreign business dealings and there are no indications that the federal investigation involves the president in any way.
The White House has repeatedly sought to distance the president from the probe.
Congressional oversight
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, House Republicans have been conducting a long-expected investigation into Hunter Biden and his father.
Last month the powerful House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to the FBI demanding the bureau produce a record related to an “an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.”
The subpoena seeks an unclassified FD-1023 document, which is generally defined as a report from an informant. An FD-1023 form could be generated in a variety of situations involving someone presenting themselves as a “source” with claims of wrongdoing.
The White House denounced the accusation as “anonymous innuendo.”
In April, a supervisor at the IRS told lawmakers that he had information that suggested the Biden administration was possibly mishandling the investigation into Hunter Biden, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
In a letter to lawmakers obtained by ABC News, the lawyer for the IRS whistleblower said his client was an IRS criminal supervisory special agent “who has been overseeing the ongoing and sensitive investigation” and “would like to make protected whistleblower disclosures to Congress.”
The disclosures, the letter said, “(1) contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee, (2) involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case, and (3) detail examples of preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland, who had testified on Capitol Hill that the Hunter Biden probe was free from any improper political interference, responded to the letter by saying he stood by that statement.
“I stand by my testimony, and I refer you to the U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware who is in charge of this case and capable of making any decisions that he feels are appropriate,” Garland said last month.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, pledged after November’s election to “pursue all avenues” of wrongdoing and called investigations into the president’s family a “top priority.”
In February, former Twitter executives testified before the Oversight Committee that the social media company made a mistake in blocking users from sharing a controversial 2020 New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
President Joe Biden subsequently dismissed the Oversight Committee’s probe in an interview with PBS NewsHour.
“[The] public’s not going to pay attention to that,” he said. “If the only thing they can do is make up things about my family, it’s not going to go very far.”
