..
Federal investigators explored charging Hunter Biden
for sex trafficking crimes
By Victor Nava, NYPost
Published Sep. 29, 2023, 8:11 p.m. ET
Federal investigators raised the possibility of charging first son Hunter Biden for crimes related to sex trafficking, according to IRS whistleblower documents made public this week.
Justice Department Tax Division prosecutor Jack Morgan outlined nine instances in which President Biden’s 53-year-old son appeared to be communicating with prostitutes and coordinating their travel across state lines, in an October 2020 email to Assistant US Attorney Lesley Wolf released by the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
“Lesley: Attached are some, but not all, of the relevant documents related to SM and solicitation,” Morgan writes in the missive, referring to Hunter Biden as “SM.”
“I summarize the contents below. The highlighted records are those that are most probative for Mann act purposes,” he adds.
Morgan’s email highlights two cases where “likely” escorts traveled from Los Angeles and New York to meet with Hunter in Boston.
Federal investigators seem to have considered charging Hunter Biden for Mann Act violations.
AP
In a third highlighted case, Morgan flagged a communication between Hunter and a woman who “self identifies as a “hooker’” that indicates the woman might have traveled from New Jersey to New York to see him.
Two communications appear to have been discovered by Morgan that show Hunter messaging sex traffickers as well, denoted as “Trafficker #1” and “Trafficker #2,” in his email to Wolf.
Morgan was unable to determine if several other women Hunter communicated with were escorts, but the correspondence appear to have been suspicious enough for the prosecutor to pass along to Wolf.
In one case, Morgan wrote, “Text chain suggests that she traveled to Delaware and that SM paid money to her. In other texts, however, she states, ‘I’m not some hooker or escort.’”
The email was provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler, who alleged a coverup in the government’s 5-year-long probe into the president’s son.
In June 1 congressional testimony, Ziegler noted that a number of women are believed to have crossed state lines for paid sex with Hunter — possibly violating the Mann Act’s prohibition on interstate prostitution.
“There were some flying people across state lines, paying for their travel, paying for their hotels. They were what we call Mann Act violations,” Ziegler said.
“I know that they were compiling them together,” he added. “I don’t know what they ended up doing with them. I know there was an effort at some point to compile them, but I don’t know what ultimately happened with them.”
Violations of the Mann Act carry criminal penalties. In a recent high-profile case, it was used to prosecute billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex-trafficking underage victims.
Earlier this month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote to the Justice Department demanding that the alleged list of Hunter’s prostitutes be provided to Congress – arguing that they could be “victims who were sexually exploited” by Hunter and in need of federal support.
Hunter was indicted earlier this month in Delaware by special counsel David Weiss on three counts related to lying about being addicted to crack cocaine when he bought a gun nearly five years ago.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
It is unknown if Weiss is considering charging the first son for crimes related to Mann Act violations.
=====================================================================================
Second UK police probe opened against Russell Brand
over sexual misconduct allegations: report
By David Propper, NYPost
Published Oct. 1, 2023, 8:33 p.m. ET
A second UK police probe has been launched into scandal-scarred actor Russell Brand over allegations of sexual misconduct, according to a report.
Thames Valley Police confirmed Saturday it was investigating claims made by a woman who met Brand in 2015, the Daily Mail reported.
The woman accused Brand of being a “sexual predator,” the outlet said, citing police logs.
The authorities in Thames Valley have become the second police department to open an investigation into the 48-year-old health and wellness guru since a bombshell report earlier this month included accusations from a number of women who said Brand sexually assaulted them.
Brand has vigorously denied all wrongdoing.
The latest probe seeks to find out more about “harassment and stalking allegations” leveled by the woman, Thames Valley Police told the Daily Mail.
Russell Brand leaves the Troubabour Wembley Park theater in northwest London after performing a comedy set.
AP
The alleged victim reached out to the police department “with new information in relation to the accusations,” the department said after investigators previously looked into her claims and dismissed them, the outlet reported.
“This information is being investigated, as such it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation,” police reportedly said.
The woman lived near Brand and got to know him in 2015 before the pair accused each other of harassment, the Daily Mail reported.
Scotland Yard, which houses the Metropolitan Police, said last week that it had started an investigation tied to allegations made against Brand in London, as well as the rest of the UK.
“Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offenses in London,” the police force said in a statement to The Post.
“We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offenses committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these.”
The report from Channel 4’s Dispatches and the Sunday Times detailed a series of sexual misconduct allegations against Brand by four women from 2006 to 2013.
Brand previously stressed in a video he “absolutely” refutes “some very serious allegations.”
“The relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual,” the comedian claimed.
No comments:
Post a Comment