Hunter Biden Seeks To Subpoena Trump, Former DOJ Officials In Gun Case

Hunter Biden’s legal team has requested to subpoena former President Donald Trump and three former senior Justice officials for evidence that they say proves Biden’s ongoing criminal prosecution is purely vindictive and politically motivated.

In court papers filed Wednesday in a Delaware federal court, Biden’s attorneys demand any and all records or documents related to his investigation on gun and tax charges dating back to January of 2017 be turned over for their review.

The subpoena targets Trump, his former Attorney General William Barr, former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue and former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.

President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, leaves after a court appearance in Wilmington, Delaware, in July. Hunter Biden has asked a judge to approve subpoenas for documents from Donald Trump and former Justice Department officials related to whether political pressure wrongly influenced the criminal case against him.

“…each had a hand in one way or another in the still ongoing investigation of Mr. Biden, either in Delaware or elsewhere,” the court filing states.

The requested documents could be personal records like diaries, journals and notes, or anything else that discusses Biden’s prosecution, requests to have him investigated or criminally charged, the subpoena states.

The demand, which must be approved by a judge, follows federal prosecutors filing three gun-related charges against President Joe Biden’s son in September after a judge rejected a leaner plea deal that he struck with prosecutors on misdemeanor charges in July.

Trump and his allies launched an “almost-nonstop public pressure campaign” to crumble the deal and sow doubt about the Justice Department’s handling of the investigation, Biden’s attorney said. The deal was publicly criticized by Trump and fellow GOP leaders as a “sweetheart plea deal” and “slap on the wrist.”

“From that point forward, Republicans pushed for more severe charges against Mr. Biden from the now Special Counsel in an effort to make Mr. Biden’s prosecution an election issue,” the filing states.

Biden’s attorneys argue that plenty of evidence already exists showing that Biden has been politically prosecuted, including federal documents, Trump’s social media comments, and Trump’s “plethora of concerning public statements.”

Donoghue, in one example cited by Biden’s attorneys, took handwritten notes during a call with Trump and Rosen on Dec. 27, 2020, which showed that Trump instructed them both to “figure out what to do with H[unter] Biden.” Trump also insisted that “people will criticize the DOJ if he’s not investigated for real.”

Those notes were released by the House Oversight Committee as part of the Jan. 6 investigation.

Barr also detailed an incident in his book when he became frustrated and snapped at Trump for asking him about a Biden investigation.

“Dammit, Mr. President, I am not going to talk to you about Hunter Biden. Period!” the court document notes Barr stating.

Barr was also cited for creating a “dedicated channel at the U.S. Attorney’s Office” to collect information about Biden. This information, which was submitted by Trump’s then-personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani and his associates, was then vetted in part by Donoghue, the filing states.

“These confirmations of communications give more than a mere appearance that President Trump improperly and unrelentingly pressured DOJ to pursue an investigation and prosecution of Mr. Biden to advance President Trump’s partisan ambitions,” the filing states.

Biden’s legal team is requesting the documents by Dec. 1, “to allow Mr. Biden sufficient time to review the material in advance of any necessary evidentiary hearing and/or trial.”

Donoghue, Rosen and a Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Efforts to reach Barr were not immediately successful.

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