CNN: 'Realistic chance' Hunter Biden could be indicted

A top legal analyst at CNN said it is possible President Biden's son Hunter Biden could be indicted by the U.S. government following an investigation into his foreign business dealings.

"This is a very real, very substantial investigation of potentially serious federal crimes," Elie Honig said Wednesday morning on the network. "We are seeing federal prosecutors in Delaware do exactly what you would expect to see federal prosecutors do in this situation."

Honig said it appears the investigation into Hunter Biden's business overseas is "gaining steam."

Hunter Biden's history of drug use and relationships in the international business world have been the subject of scorn among Republicans and critics of his father for years.

Former President Trump relentlessly attacked President Biden over his son's struggles with addiction and what he alleged to be corrupt overseas business affairs during the 2020 presidential campaign. Trump's first impeachment stemmed from a call with the president of Ukraine during which Trump pressured the Ukrainian leader to help him dig up dirt on Hunter Biden, who had done business in the country with a corrupt oil and gas company.

On Tuesday, Trump took his attacks on the Bidens a step further, asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to release any damning information the Russian government may have on Hunter Biden. Putin is currently carrying out an invasion of Ukraine that has earned widespread condemnation from the international community.

"Why did the mayor of Moscow's wife give the Bidens, both of them, $3.5 million dollars? That's a lot of money," Trump said. "I would think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it."

Many media outlets have through independent fact-checking shot down some of Trump's various claims of corruption against the Bidens. Yet The Washington Post this week published a 3,000-word investigative report confirming key details of Hunter Biden's business dealings in China.

The Justice Department is reportedly continuing to look into potential illegal lobbying allegations against a consulting firm tied to Ukrainian energy company Burisma, on whose board Hunter Biden once sat.

"There is a realistic chance this could result in federal charges," Honig said. "Of course, then we'd be in unprecedented political territory - not legal territory but a situation of having potentially the Department of Justice prosecuting and trying to imprison the son of the president."