Romanian oligarch hired Hunter Biden to influence US policy, special counsel says
(WILMINGTON, Del.) — Prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’ office are accusing Hunter Biden of accepting payments from a Romanian businessman who was attempting to “influence U.S. government agencies,” while his father Joe Biden was vice president.
If true, the allegation would mark the closest prosecutors have come to tying President Joe Biden to his son’s overseas business endeavors — a matter congressional Republicans have spent years scrutinizing.
The special counsel’s claim, in a court filing Wednesday in the younger Biden’s federal tax case, stems from Hunter Biden’s work on behalf of Gabriel Popoviciu, a wealthy Romanian who prosecutors say hired the president’s son for legal work in late 2015.
Popoviciu was at the time facing corruption charges in his home country.
At Hunter Biden’s upcoming tax trial, “the government will introduce the evidence … that [Hunter Biden] and Business Associate 1 received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation of [Popoviciu] in Romania,” prosecutors wrote in Wednesday’s filing.
According to prosecutors, Hunter Biden and his business associate “were concerned that lobbying work might cause political ramifications for the defendant’s father,” so the deal was structured in a way that “concealed the true nature of the work he was performing.”
The special counsel’s office made a passing reference to Hunter Biden’s work with Popoviciu in their December indictment. However, Wednesday’s filing was the first to suggest that Hunter Biden was compensated in a lobbying capacity.
Prosecutors said Hunter Biden and two business partners split more than $3 million in payments from Popoviciu between November 2015 and 2017.
A representative for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Hunter Biden faces three felony tax charges and additional misdemeanors for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2020. The back taxes and penalties were previously paid in full by a third party, identified by ABC News as Hunter Biden’s attorney and confidant, Kevin Morris.
The trial, in California, is scheduled to begin in early September.
(PHOENIX) — Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has requested the Arizona “fake elector” case against him be moved from Maricopa County into federal court, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
The request comes weeks after Meadows asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in his similar effort to move the Fulton County, Georgia, election case against him into federal court.
In Wednesday’s filing, Meadows’ attorneys said their client’s request is “based on recent new Supreme Court authority clarifying the scope of immunity,” citing the court’s recent presidential immunity ruling.
Meadows’ attorneys argued that the case should also be moved from state court because the indictment “squarely relates to Mr. Meadows’s conduct as Chief of Staff to the President.”
The argument is similar to the one Meadows has made for months in his Fulton County case, citing a law that calls for the removal of criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official.
“It is unmistakably clear that the indictment charges Mr. Meadows with alleged state crimes based on acts he took as Chief of Staff to the President of the United States and in the course of his duties in the position,” Meadows’ attorneys said in the filing.
In response to the request, a judge has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Sept. 5.
Meadows was charged in Arizona, along with 17 others, for fraud, forgery and conspiracy over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. He has pleaded not guilty.
Last week, charges were dropped against former President Donald Trump’s former campaign attorney Jenna Ellis in exchange for her cooperation in the case.
(WASHINGTON) — Cecilia sat in front of her computer repeatedly refreshing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services webpage on Monday, waiting for the application for the Biden administration’s “Keeping Families Together” program to show up on her screen.
Minutes later, she clicked it open and submitted the form in less than 20 minutes.
A little more than 24 hours later, she got an e-mail sharing the news that she had been waiting 20 years to hear.
“I see that I got approved, and I’m like, oh that was quick,” she told ABC News in an interview. “I was lost for words…a whole bunch of emotions were going on.”
Cecilia, who asked ABC News not to disclose her full name so she can freely disclose her immigration status, is one of the first immigrants to receive parole in place, a temporary relief from deportation under a new program that allows undocumented spouses and stepchildren of United States citizens to apply for permanent legal residence without having to leave the country.
Noncitizen spouses are already eligible for legal status under current laws but often have to apply from their home countries and face up to a 10-year ban from returning to the U.S.
On June 18, President Joe Biden announced an executive action launching the program, calling it a “commonsense fix” to keep families together.
“This action is a better way. It doesn’t tear families apart, while requiring every undocumented spouse to fulfill their obligations under the law,” Biden said.
It’s estimated that half a million noncitizen spouses and 50,000 children could benefit from the program, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
In order to qualify for the program, applicants must be in the country unlawfully and pass background checks. They also have to prove they’ve lived in the country for at least a decade and must be married to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024.
Some noncitizen stepchildren under the age of 21 are also eligible.
Cecilia’s family brought her to the U.S. from Mexico when she was a 4-year-old, she told ABC News.
After unsuccessfully applying for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which continues to be paused pending a yearlong battle that could permanently end the program, she thought her dreams of finally being able to pursue a career as a chemist were over. For years, she said her parents worked to help her with paying out of state tuition because of her status.
In 2018, she met her future husband when he was studying biology at the same school.
“At the time I didn’t really tell him about my status, because I was like, what if he doesn’t like me because I’m not here legally,” she told ABC News.
However, she said her husband was overwhelmingly supportive of her despite her being undocumented. He has helped her get through school while raising their 3-year-old. He was working when she shared the news that her application was approved.
“He was like, ‘Are you not playing with me?'” she recalled. They went to celebrate as soon as he got home.
“We always try to celebrate little moments in our lives, even if they’re small, because we never know when one us might not be there and we try to be united as a family, she said.
Cecilia learned about the new policy from American Families United, a nonprofit organization that advocates for legal pathways to citizenship for foreign nationals married to U.S. citizens.
“Countless American families like Cecilia’s have endured years of uncertainty, holding onto the hope that one day they could live without fear,” said Ashley DeAzevedo, president of American Families United, in a statement. “We are encouraged to see the quick approval of Cecilia’s application—she is American in every way that counts. Now, she will have the opportunity to contribute even more to her family and this nation that she calls home.”
Cecilia believes that because she had already submitted biometrics and other information to USCIS as part of her DACA application, her case was expedited.
A USCIS official told ABC News that the agency may prioritize applicants who already have other pending applications and have submitted accurate biographic information.
Cecilia has already applied for her work permit and plans to apply for lawful permanent residence status as soon as she’s able to, finally putting the frustration of living in limbo as an undocumented immigrant in the past for good. Her dreams of owning a home, launching her career and raising her child with her husband seem within reach.
She’s urging other undocumented immigrants to remain hopeful.
“I feel like people should be more hopeful and that there are people advocating for them,” she said. “Everyone deserves an extra opportunity.”
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The 29-year-old daughter of a former longtime MLB pitcher has been missing since last week after visiting a bar with her ex-boyfriend, according to police.
Brenna Swindell, the daughter of Greg Swindell, was last seen on Aug. 22 at Poodies Hilltop Bar in Spicewood, Texas, outside Austin, according to the Austin Police Department.
Swindell was at the bar at about 10:20 p.m. with her ex-boyfriend, Morgan Guidry, who has also not been seen since Thursday. Both of their cellphones have been off since Friday, police said.
Swindell is about 5-foot-4 and approximately 120 to 140 pounds, according to Austin police. She has brown hair and hazel eyes and tattoos on both arms.
Police identified a vehicle she might be traveling in — a white 2022 Kia Carnival minivan with Texas license plate VFS 7528 — and said she was “possibly seen” in Colorado Springs or Denver.
Police did not offer further information, but a post on Greg Swindell’s Facebook said that a license plate reader in Colorado flagged the Kia, owned by Brenna Swindell, on Friday night. Greg Swindell posted on his X account that people should be on the lookout for the vehicle in Idaho as well.
“Ms. Swindell has not been in usual contact with her family and friends,” Austin police wrote in a statement. “APD is concerned about her safety and immediate welfare.”
Greg Swindell played 17 seasons in the majors as a starting pitcher early in his career and later as a relief pitcher. He played for six different teams, including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Houston, Minnesota, Boston and Arizona. He finished his career with a record of 123-122 and a 3.86 ERA and won a World Series title with the Diamondbacks in 2001.
He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1986 MLB draft out of the University of Texas at Austin.
“First of all, I can’t thank you enough for the shares and messages…I have been sifting through them while Greg is in Austin with the police,” Swindell’s wife, Sarah, wrote on his Facebook, adding, “Please continue to pray for the safe return. Thank you all so much again.”
ABC News’ Jenna Harrison and Jen Watts contributed to this report.