Portugal routs Luxembourg in record 9-0 win without suspended Ronaldo. Drone delays Armenia-Croatia The Independent
Day: September 14, 2023
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was criminally charged Thursday with deceiving a gun dealer into selling him a firearm. It was thought to be the first indictment ever of a sitting U.S. president’s child.
The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, charged Biden with three criminal counts related to lying about the fact he was using illegal drugs in October 2018 when he purchased a Colt Cobra handgun, which would have banned him under the law from owning a firearm.
The charges, brought by U.S. special counsel David Weiss, say nothing about any violations of U.S. tax law. A prior deal under which Biden, 53, would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enroll in a program to avoid prosecution on the gun charge collapsed in a July hearing.
The tax investigation into Biden is continuing. Weiss previously said any possible charges would need to be brought in either the District of Columbia or the Los Angeles-based Central District of California.
The indictment came two days after House of Representatives Republicans opened an impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden related to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. The White House has denounced that step, made without a vote by the full House, as unsubstantiated and politically motivated.
The White House declined to comment on the indictment. An attorney for Hunter Biden could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Weiss declined to comment.
Special counsel status
Weiss was elevated to special counsel status in August after investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings for years as the U.S. attorney in the Democratic president’s home state of Delaware. Weiss was originally nominated by then-President Donald Trump.
The younger Biden for years has been the focus of attacks by Trump and his Republican allies, who have accused him of wrongdoing relating to Ukraine and China, among other matters. Hunter Biden has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, investment banker and artist, and he has publicly detailed his struggles with substance abuse.
While Republican lawmakers have collected testimony that Joe Biden at times joined calls with his son’s business associates, they have yet to produce evidence that the president personally benefited.
“Today’s charges against Hunter Biden are a very small start, but unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,” said Republican Representative James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, one of the three committees leading the impeachment inquiry that kicked off this week.
Hunter Biden disclosed in December 2020 that Weiss’s office was investigating his tax affairs. He has denied wrongdoing.
While most U.S. attorneys appointed by Trump were asked to step down when Biden took office in January 2021, as is routine, the Justice Department asked Weiss to stay on.
Hunter Biden has never held a position in the White House or on his father’s campaign. The president has said he has not discussed foreign business dealings with his son and has said his Justice Department would have independence in any investigation of a member of his family.
Trump and other Republicans have alleged what they called conflicts of interest from Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma at the time his father was vice president to Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump in a July 2019 phone call with Ukraine’s president asked him to have his government open an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives later voted to impeach Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress stemming from these efforts, though the Senate ultimately voted to keep Trump in office.
In a 2021 memoir, Hunter Biden wrote of his substance abuse issues, including his use of crack cocaine and alcohol. He was discharged from the U.S. Navy Reserve in 2014 after, sources said at the time, testing positive for cocaine.
The president has two surviving children, Hunter Biden and daughter Ashley Biden. His son Beau Biden died in 2015 of cancer and his daughter Naomi Biden died as an infant after a car accident that also killed Joe Biden’s first wife.
Hunter Biden appears to be the first child of a sitting president to be indicted, according to Aaron Crawford, who specializes in presidential history at the University of Tennessee.
Crawford said family members of several presidents have been ensnared in legal or financial problems, including George H.W. Bush’s son Neil, who was on the board of directors of a failed savings and loan, and Richard Nixon’s brother Don, who was rescued from business failures by wealthy businessman Howard Hughes.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and other
presidents participating in the 5th Consultative Meeting of the
Heads of State of Central Asia have viewed the EXPO Central Asia
2023 exhibition in Dushanbe.
The exhibition organized with the support of the government of
Tajikistan features leading companies and their products.
The purpose of the exhibition is to introduce products of
manufacturing companies and strengthen trade cooperation between
countries of Central Asia.
The pavilions of Central Asian countries demonstrate a large
assortment of light industry and cocoon production, hydropower and
innovative equipment, household appliances, as well as meat
products, dairy products, dried fruits, canned food, soft drinks
and other products.
Cars, passenger and cargo vehicles, military defense vehicles,
as well as agricultural equipment from Central Asian countries were
on display in the open area of the exhibition.
The exhibition also featured the results of activities and
achievements of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and
the World Health Organization.
The exhibition also provided detailed information about trade
along the Silk Road, which took place in ancient times, and the
activities of Tajik artisans in different periods.
The hydropower resources of Tajikistan were demonstrated in a
separate corner.
Then the heads of state visited an exhibition of industrial
products of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
It was noted that the organization of such a large regional
exhibition contributes to the expansion of trade cooperation, the
development of production workshops and enterprises, and an
increase in the range and volume of industrial products in the
countries involved.
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As the House considers the Defense Appropriations Bill, Representatives Adam Schiff and Jake Auchincloss are urging Congress to cut off aid to Azerbaijan.
“The ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan has cut off essential aid to over 120,000 people. Time is of the essence. The blockade must end,” Rep. Schiff said in a video message.
“The blockade must end. The USA can’t let Azerbaijan starve the Armenian population in Artsakh into submission,” Rep. Auchincloss stated.
Russia to examine Armenia’s refusal to host CSTO military exercises, allowing joint drills with US Anadolu Agency | English