Legal experts, as interviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation, propose that President Joe Biden might conceivably be subject to bribery charges concerning the payments made to his family members. Despite Democratic objections asserting that Biden did not personally gain from his son Hunter's business transactions, these legal authorities maintain that if a direct connection can be established, the foreign payments received by Hunter Biden could potentially incriminate his father.
According to Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, there are instances where payments to family members can be treated as bribery if the principal is aware of them. Republicans have also pointed out that payments made to family members with the intent to corruptly influence others can constitute bribery.
In August, the House Oversight Committee released a memorandum that revealed foreign payments exceeding $20 million to the Biden family and their associates. These funds included payments received by Hunter Biden while Joe Biden served as vice president and came from various individuals and entities, such as Russian oligarch Elena Baturina, the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, and Kazakh businessman Kenes Rakishev. Despite these revelations, the White House has dismissed the findings, asserting that they do not directly implicate President Biden.
Joseph Moreno, a former federal prosecutor and FBI consultant, underscored the illegality of a public official, including the President, accepting something of value in exchange for being swayed in the execution of their official duties. He pointed out that this exchange could take place via direct payments or gifts directed at the public official, or indirectly through their family members or business associates.
Although these revelations may not explicitly demand a statutory violation for the initiation of impeachment proceedings, Moreno clarified that if Congress opts to impeach and prosecute President Biden for deriving advantages from inappropriate payments channeled through his son or other family members, they possess the jurisdiction to do so.