The high-powered Hollywood attorney providing financial and strategic advice to Hunter Biden, who is currently in the crosshairs of a federal investigation into his taxes and purportedly “shady” overseas business dealings, is viewed by some of the US president’s allies as a potential liability, according to The New York Times.
They are reportedly uneasy over the fact that Kevin Morris, best known for brokering a $550 million licensing deal for the co-creators of the animated satire series “South Park”, has taken on the role of a close confidant to Joe Biden’s second son.
They are also concerned that the president’s son receiving financial assistance from a wealthy benefactor could reflect badly on the POTUS, according to insiders cited by the publication.
Kevin Morris has his work cut out for him, particularly now, when the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and foreign dealings appears to be entering the home stretch.
In recent weeks, the US Justice Department has been discussing how to move forward with the case. In the coming months, prosecutors are expected to decide whether to file criminal or civil charges against Hunter Biden, or to reach some sort of settlement, possibly including a significant fine. The decision needs the approval of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Accordingly, Kevin Morris has allegedly been handling “sensitive” subjects for the president’s son that could potentially be fraught with political ramifications for the White House.
Morris, founder and former managing partner of the Morris Yorn Entertainment Law Firm, is said to have lent more than $2 million to Hunter Biden.
The money provided by Morris, who allegedly first met Hunter in December 2019 at a fundraiser for the Biden presidential campaign, is said to have bankrolled his family’s needs, such as rent and daily expenses, while also covering an overdue tax bill, according to cited sources. Biden paying his delinquent taxes via the loan could render a criminal tax case against him more difficult to prosecute.
Furthermore, Morris also reportedly advised Hunter Biden on a wide array of issues, such as a paternity and child support lawsuit, and his art sales. He also helped Hunter with his memoir, “Beautiful Things”, published last year, according to media reports.
The American lawyer, producer, and writer is also believed to be footing the bill for a documentary project expected to be based on Hunter Biden’s “redemption story”, including his struggles with addiction, outlined in his memoir.
The documentary, produced by a company Morris set up in 2021 called Media Courthouse Documentary Collective, will aim to present the president’s son as the “victim of allies” of ex-POTUS Donald Trump, who distributed to the media the damning contents of a hard drive from a laptop abandoned by Hunter in a Delaware repair shop.
When the contents of the “laptop from hell”, obtained and disseminated to the media initially by Rudolph W. Giuliani - former attorney to ex-President Trump, made the headlines, Morris reportedly advised publicly questioning the story.
He devised a strategy that presupposed lobbing an attack at those involved in spreading files from the computer, such as former White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon and Rudolph W. Giuliani. However, the tactic of going on the offence publicly is said to have been struck down by Hunter Biden’s defence lawyers. They advised treading with caution amid the ongoing federal investigation.
The allies cited by The New York Times would prefer that Joe Biden’s son keep a low profile and heed the advice of his primary defence lawyer, Chris Clark. Furthermore, they want Hunter Biden to make every effort to settle the matter with the Justice Department if prosecutors decide they want to charge him, according to a cited source.
The New York Post was the first to publish an exposé on the alleged unethical and potentially illegal influence-peddling involving Joe Biden after damning emails were retrieved from the laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden.
While dismissed at the time as “unsubstantiated” and part of a Russian “disinformation campaign” by mainstream media, The New York Times and other outlets have since admitted some of the files were “authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation" into Hunter Biden’s “tax affairs”.
There has not yet been any official statement from Kevin Morris regarding his role as “trusted adviser” to Hunter Biden.
This comes against the looming possibility that that Republicans will win control of Congress in the November midterms and immediately begin investigations into Hunter Biden and how the Justice Department handled the case.