The Weiss Report: The 'last name's' failure to pay taxes on earnings cannot be attributed solely to Hunter's drug use.

David Weiss' investigation into Hunter Biden's drug abuse did not justify his failure to pay taxes on millions of dollars earned through his "last name and connections."

Mr. Biden, a well-educated lawyer and businessman, intentionally and knowingly failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over a four-year period. From 2016 to 2020, Mr. Biden earned more than $7 million in total gross income, including approximately $1.5 million in 2016, $2.3 million in 2017, $2.1 million in 2018, $1 million in 2019, and $188,000 from January through October 15, 2020, as stated in Weiss's final report, which was released on Monday.

Mr. Biden secured lucrative business opportunities by leveraging his last name and connections, including a board seat at Burisma Holdings Limited and a joint venture with individuals associated with a Chinese energy conglomerate. He negotiated and executed contracts that paid him millions of dollars for limited work.

Last year, Hunter Biden, 54, had a busy year in court, with two separate federal cases brought against him by Weiss. In June, he faced three felony firearm offenses related to his drug use in a trial in Delaware, before pleading guilty in a separate felony tax case in September.

In September, Hunter Biden faced charges of three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses for failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Just as jury selection was about to begin in Los Angeles federal court for the case, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea.

In his report, Weiss stated that Hunter Biden spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle instead of paying his taxes, and he willfully failed to pay his taxes for the years 2016 to 2019, even though he had the funds to pay some or all of these taxes.

Weiss stated that the first son's past drug abuse does not account for his inability to pay taxes.

"Weiss wrote that Mr. Biden's tax code violations were not inconsequential or technical, and his conduct could not be excused by his drug use. Specifically, Mr. Biden filed a false 2018 return in February 2020, eight months after regaining his sobriety, which deliberately underreported his income to lower his tax liability. Given the seriousness of his tax crimes, Weiss argued that the prosecution of Mr. Biden was warranted."

In 2021, Hunter published a memoir titled "Beautiful Things," which detailed his history of drug abuse, including his addiction to crack cocaine and subsequent sobriety in 2019. The memoir was also used as evidence in his separate firearms case in June, where he was found guilty of three felony charges related to purchasing a gun while under the influence of substances.

Mr. Biden, despite earning millions of dollars in high-paying positions, opted to fund his lavish lifestyle rather than pay taxes. He then falsely claimed business deductions on his tax returns, knowing they were personal expenses. He did this on his own, and his tax return preparers relied on him because only he understood the true nature of his deductions and failed to provide records that might have exposed the fraud.

The tax case charges carried up to 17 years behind bars, but the first son would likely have faced a much shorter sentence under federal sentencing guidelines. However, his sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, but he was pardoned by his father, President Biden, earlier that month.

Any federal offenses that Hunter Biden has or may have committed during the past decade were covered by his blanket pardon.

The report by Weiss criticized President Biden's decision to pardon Hunter Biden, particularly his characterization of the prosecutions against Hunter as "selective" and "unfair."

"In his report, Weiss wrote that the statement made by the president was unnecessary and incorrect. While other presidents have pardoned family members, none have used the opportunity to criticize the Department of Justice officials based on unfounded accusations."

"Politicians who criticize the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case erode the public's trust in our criminal justice system, according to Weiss in another part of the report. The President's remarks unfairly question the integrity of all public servants who make tough decisions in good faith."

The investigation into the first son officially ended Monday evening when the DOJ sent Weiss' report to Congress.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.