AG Barr knew about Hunter Biden probe for months: report

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Media ignores Hunter Biden scandal until after election

New York Post columnist Miranda Devine weighs in on ‘Fox and Friends.’

Attorney General William Barr reportedly knew about investigations into Hunter Biden’s business and financial dealings for months and worked to stop them from being disclosed to the public during the election campaign.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Barr was aware of investigations involving President-elect Joe Biden’s son since before the spring and has resisted pressure from Republicans in Congress for information into the investigations.

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The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News. The Journal reports that Justice Department guidelines advise investigators against taking overt actions in a run-up to an election.

Hunter Biden said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware is investigating his “tax affairs” and that he is taking the matter “very seriously” and is “confident” he handled his affairs “legally and appropriately.”

A well-placed government source told Fox News that Hunter Biden is a subject/target of the grand jury investigation. According to the source, a "target" means that there is a "high probability that person committed a crime," while a "subject" is someone you "don't know for sure" has committed a crime. 

The source also told Fox News that this investigation was predicated, in part, by Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions. 

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Another source familiar with the investigation tells Fox News that the SARs were regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."

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The Journal reports that federal prosecutors in Manhattan had also been looking into his dealings as part of a broader financial investigation that has been going on for at least a year -- although he was never a specific target for prosecution.

The outlet reports that investigators tried to keep the case out of public view by taking few visible steps in the weeks before the election, recognizing the impact it could have.

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But President Trump has been constantly urging Barr to get involved, and on Thursday criticized the DOJ, as well as the FBI and media’s handling of the case.

“Why didn’t the Fake News Media, the FBI and the DOJ report the Biden matter BEFORE the Election,” he tweeted. Oh well, it’s OK, we won the Election anyway - 75,000,000 VOTES!!!”

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.