President Trump is considering appointing a special counsel to oversee a federal tax investigation into Hunter Biden, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
Trump has discussed the matter with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipillone, and others, administration officials and Republicans close to the White House told the AP. The president is reportedly angry that Attorney General William Barr did not reveal the existence of the Hunter Biden tax probe before the 2020 election.
Federal authorities are reportedly investigating allegations that Hunter failed to pay $400,000 in taxes on income received as a former board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company.
In addition to the Hunter Biden investigation, Trump may attempt to appoint a special counsel for claims of widespread election fraud. The president has alleged that Democrats “stole” the election for Joe Biden, however pro-Trump lawyers have declined to present hard evidence to back up the claims.
It is unclear whether Trump will succeed in the efforts. Barr announced on Monday that he will resign before Christmas, and the incoming acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, said on Tuesday that he “will continue to focus on the implementation of the Department’s key priorities.”
Trump and allies including personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have alleged that Joe Biden has been influenced by his son’s foreign business dealings. The younger Biden has had business interests in Ukraine as well as with a now-defunct Chinese energy conglomerate called CEFC. A report by Senate Republicans in September uncovered financial transactions that appear to be between CEFC and Hunter Biden’s law firm.