Joe and Hunter Biden: Business Dealings, Cases and Pardon

Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings and drug use brought scrutiny to his father, Joe Biden. The record includes millions in business payments, firearm and tax convictions, and a presidential pardon that prevented sentencing. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Hunter served on Burisma’s board from 2014 to 2019, receiving approximately $1 million in 2016 alone. A venture involving Chinese energy interests transferred another $3.545 million to his company in 2017 and 2018, some subsequently paid to another associate. Former partner Devon Archer recalled about 20 calls with Joe Biden around business contacts but said he witnessed no discussions of specific financial arrangements or requests for official action. ^{[1] [5]}

Hunter was discharged from the Navy Reserve in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine. A jury convicted him in June 2024 of three firearm offenses involving a 2018 gun purchase and false statements about his drug use. That September, he pleaded guilty to nine tax offenses involving at least $1.4 million in unpaid taxes, filing failures and false returns. Neither prosecution charged his father. ^{[6] [2] [3]}

Laptop data introduced at the gun trial documented Hunter’s drug use. A CBS-commissioned forensic review found no tampering in the copy examined. Separately, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov admitted fabricating claims that Burisma bribed both Bidens and received a six-year sentence. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Republicans conducted at least two major congressional inquiries, reported in 2020 and 2024; their combined cost remains unverified. Rep. James Comer raised national security concerns about Biden-family dealings but later defended Trump’s business activity as public, identifying concealment or missing disclosures as possible grounds for scrutiny. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

On Dec. 1, 2024, Joe Biden pardoned his son for federal offenses committed or potentially committed since Jan. 1, 2014. He said Hunter had been unfairly targeted because of their relationship. The pardon ended the prosecutions before sentencing, leaving a record of Hunter’s established offenses and his father’s decision to shield him from federal punishment for the covered conduct. ^{[4] [14]}