Hunter's Movie Producer/Lawyer Friend Testimony Raises Questions

The complicated relationship between President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and entertainment attorney Kevin Morris is raising ethical and legal concerns amid the effort of House Republicans to prove that the president was involved in and benefiting from his son’s business dealings.

A transcript of Morris' closed-door-deposition was released Tuesday after Morris accused House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., of being misleading about Morris' testimony.

While Morris portrayed himself as Hunter Biden’s friend and attorney, Paul Kamenar, senior counsel at the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative nonprofit that promotes ethics in public life, said there are obvious “ethical questions” prompted by the nearly $5 million loan Morris provided.

As Hunter Biden’s attorney, Kamenar said Morris is prohibited from lending or giving money to his clients under California bar rules.

"It seems that this is a clear violation of that ethical rule," Kamenar said.

Newsmax insider and political commentator Tom Borelli said Morris' financial support of Hunter Biden is another example of the "typical wealthy Hollywood elite using their money to advance Democrats and protect Democrats."

"He’s a sugar daddy and trying to buy influence given the amount of money he’s forked over," he said.

Borelli said "nobody" offers to help cover back taxes, rent, paternity lawsuits, and a slew of other expenses for “nothing” in return.

Earlier this month, America First Legal filed a complaint with the California bar accusing Morris of misconduct.

According to State Bar of California Rule 1.8.5(a), "[a] lawyer shall not directly or indirectly pay or agree to pay, guarantee, or represent that the lawyer or lawyer’s law firm will pay the personal or business expenses of a prospective or existing client."

Kamenar said the loan also has potential tax implications for both Morris and Hunter Biden.

While it is "perfectly legal" for Morris to give Hunter Biden money, he said tax rules still do come into play. If the loan winds up being a gift, Kamenar said Hunter Biden may be on the hook for paying a “gift tax.”

Morris told lawmakers, however, that Hunter Biden would not owe him any repayment until after the 2024 elections.

If the money is a loan, as Morris portrayed it to be during the closed-door hearing, Kamenar said that according to IRS rules, there are serious tax implications. Someone must pay tax on that income.

There’s another wrinkle, too.

Hunter Biden was filmed holding a press conference defying his subpoena and crashing his own contempt hearing, and it is rumored that Morris is filming Hunter Biden for a documentary.

In the event the loan is actually a payment to Hunter Biden in exchange for allowing Morris to film him, Kamenar said Hunter would be responsible for reporting the money as income and paying taxes.

Kamenar said the film crew and Morris’ association with it raises a question on whether the loans may constitute payment to Hunter Biden for allowing Morris to film his life and later sell it.

Where those "clear" ethical and legal questions blur into a "muddy area" is when politics come into play, Kamenar said.

Morris' testimony was made public after his attorney, Bryan Sullivan, penned a letter to Comer arguing that the top Republican “cherry‐picked, out of context and totally misleading descriptions” in his public readout of the private deposition.

Comer had issued his own statement raising concerns about Morris' financial support for Hunter Biden.

"Shortly after meeting Hunter Biden at a Joe Biden campaign event in 2019, Kevin Morris began paying Hunter Biden’s tax liability to insulate then-presidential candidate Joe Biden from political liability," Comer said. "Kevin Morris admitted he has ‘loaned’ the president’s son at least $5 million. These ‘loans’ don’t have to be repaid until after the next presidential election and the ‘loans’ may ultimately be forgiven."

Comer continued that since Morris "kept President Biden’s son financially afloat, he’s had access to the Biden White House and has spoken to President Biden."

While Comer contends that Morris’ financial support for Hunter Biden "follows a familiar pattern" in which associates of the president’s son "have access to Joe Biden himself," Morris claimed otherwise in his deposition.

Morris has denied receiving any political favors in exchange for his financial assistance. During his testimony, he said he had been to the White House three times since Joe Biden became president: for a tour, for the wedding of Hunter Biden's daughter, Naomi, and for last year's annual Fourth of July picnic.

When the committee asked Morris if he had ever spoken with the president, he said Biden cracked a joke about his hair.

When asked about his relationship with Hunter Biden, Morris claimed attorney-client privilege when discussing the loans.

Kamenar said the loan could have potentially violated campaign laws if it were given to Hunter Biden to help his dad on the campaign trail.

If Hunter Biden were able to pay his taxes, Kamenar said Joe Biden would be able to "avoid the problem of his son having these tax problems," which may in turn "lessen the bad PR" that might rub off on his campaign.

"It could raise an election problem if in fact Kevin Morris intended the funds to pay Hunter’s taxes was to help Joe Biden’s campaign," Kamenar said.

But he said it is a "very muddy area of the law."