Biden presents new defense chief as son Hunter reveals his taxes are being investigated – live

Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and Bernie Sanders campaign surrogate, has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to run for a seat that would be vacated by representative Marcia Fudge if Fudge is confirmed to serve in Biden’s cabinet.

Biden is expected to name Fudge as his pick for Housing and Urban Development secretary, though he has yet to make an official announcement. Fudge would then have to be confirmed by the Senate in order to take the post.

Politico first reported that Turner was eyeing a congressional seat yesterday.

In Idaho, a virtual health board meeting on Tuesday night was cut short because protestors gathered at the homes of officials. The Idaho Statesman reports:

The Central District Health Board of Health meeting Tuesday night to discuss and vote on a public health order dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic was adjourned shortly after it started because of the danger posed by protesters at the CDH office and at some board members’ places of residence.

Moments after a tearful Commissioner Diana Lachiondo left the virtual meeting to head to her house — where her children were home alone, and where anti-mask, anti-health-order protesters had reportedly gathered — CDH Director Russ Duke interrupted a doctor’s statements on the toll of the coronavirus to tell the board and people watching that Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee had requested that the meeting be ended for safety reasons.

Dr. Ted Epperly, another board member, said protesters gathered at his house as well. He told the Statesman that about 15 people were outside his home, “beating garbage cans and flashing strobe lights through my windows. Two came up and knocked on my door during the meeting.”

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting to a later date and seconded, and board members voted to adjourn shortly after Duke’s statement.

“I am disappointed that we had to table the vote,” Epperly told the Statesman.

As the coronavirus pandemic in the US escalates, so have protests against health orders to rein in the pandemic. In Idaho, coronavirus deaths have increased by nearly 50% over the past fortnight.

Commissioner Lachinondo, teary, told her colleagues, “my 12-year-old son is home by himself right now, and there are protesters banging outside the door. I’m going to go home and make sure he’s okay.”

Read more here.

Per NBC’s Tom Winter, Hunter Biden and his former wife Kathleen Buhle also had an IRS lien against them for unpaid taxes. It remains unclear whether the lien is part of the investigation by the US attorney’s office in Delaware.

CNN has more details on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes:

After pausing in the months before the election, federal authorities are now actively investigating the business dealings of Hunter Biden, a person with knowledge of the probe says. His father the President-elect is not implicated.

Now that the election is over, the investigation is entering a new phase. Federal prosecutors in Delaware, working with the IRS Criminal Investigation agency and the FBI, are taking overt steps such as issuing subpoenas and seeking interviews, the person with knowledge says.

Activity in the investigation had been largely dormant in recent months due to Justice Department guidelines prohibiting overt actions that could affect an election, the person said. …

Investigators have been examining multiple financial issues, including whether Hunter Biden and associates violated tax and money laundering laws in business dealings in foreign countries, principally China, according to two people briefed on the probe.

Some of those transactions involved people who the FBI believe sparked counterintelligence concerns, a common issue when dealing with Chinese business, according to another source.

According to CNN, the investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes started in 2018 and is focused on his business dealings in China.

The investigation was put on hold in the immediate run-up to the presidential election because of department policy about not affecting elections, but investigators took additional steps after the race concluded last month.

CNN reporter Evan Perez said he had been in contact with Hunter Biden’s legal team in the last few days to discuss investigative steps being taken in connection to the president-elect’s son.

Biden’s attorneys did not get back to CNN before the transition team released its own statement today announcing the investigation.

Hunter Biden was a frequent target of attack for Donald Trump and his allies in the months leading up to the presidential election.

During his final campaign rallies, the president repeatedly (and falsely) referred to the Biden family as “a criminal enterprise”.

Following news of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes, one Republican congressman called on attorney general William Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the president-elect’s son.

According to NBC News, Hunter Biden and his ex-wife had an IRS lien against them for unpaid taxes of $112,805.09 up until March of this year, but it’s unclear whether the newly announced investigation is in connection to that.

Some Republican senators have said they are open to supporting Doug Jones if Joe Biden nominates him to become attorney general.

When asked about Jones’ possible nomination, Ted Cruz replied, “I’ll assess every nominee on the merits.”

Richard Shelby of Alabama added, “He’d probably get a bigger vote than anybody nominated.”

Jones lost his bid to serve a full term in the Senate last month, but he is now the frontrunner to become attorney general, according to multiple reports.

John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, wished Tom Wolf a speedy recovery from coronavirus after the governor announced his positive test result.

Fetterman attracted national attention last month, as he pushed back against baseless claims from Donald Trump and his allies about widespread election fraud in Pennsylvania.

Leaving the Queen theater in Wilmington after formally introducing Lloyd Austin as his defense secretary nominee, Joe Biden did not respond to reporters’ shouted questions about his choice for attorney general and whether he will make a trip to Georgia to campaign for the Senate runoff races.

Biden said yesterday that he would announce his attorney general nominee later this week, and senator Doug Jones, who will leave office next month, is currently the frontrunner for the job, according to NBC News.

Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris echoed Joe Biden’s comments about Lloyd Austin, saying the retired general was the right nominee to steer the Pentagon.

“I am absolutely confident that General Lloyd Austin is the right person to lead the Department of Defense at this critical moment,” Harris said. “We need a proven leader to help address this pandemic.”

The event concluded after Harris wrapped up her remarks. Biden did not take any of the shouted questions from reporters as he departed.