Hunter Biden, Olympics Probe, and Summer Begins

Hunter Biden Plea Deal

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty in a federal case related to his taxes, according to court documents yesterday. The proposed plea deal includes two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax and a pretrial diversion agreement—an option typically for nonviolent offenders with substance abuse problems—for a felony firearm charge.

The agreement would likely end a federal investigation that began in 2018, focusing on whether Hunter Biden evaded taxes on money earned from overseas business ventures. Prosecutors claim he received more than $1.5M in taxable income annually in 2017 and 2018 but failed to pay the taxes owed. He is also accused of falsely filling out a federal form during a 2018 gun purchase, while being a drug user at the time.

The Justice Department is expected to recommend probation for the tax charges, and the diversion program will likely lead to the dismissal of the gun charge. The deal faced criticism from Republicans, who vowed to continue a separate investigation, led by the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee, into Hunter Biden's business dealings. 

Paris Olympics Probe

French financial investigators searched the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics yesterday, reportedly seeking documents in two separate preliminary investigations involving corruption allegations. No charges have been brought in either probe so far. 

Investigators with the National Financial Prosecutor's office were said to be looking into possible conflicts of interest and embezzlement at the organization and the local group responsible for Olympic infrastructure, Solideo. The unannounced arrival comes as French organizers look to hold themselves to a higher standard of transparency in light of past Olympic scandals (see list), including by signing the first-ever host city contract with language banning corruption. 

The city is set to host the Summer Games next July 26 to Aug. 11 at an estimated cost of nearly $10B. Organizers claim roughly 70% of the facilities to be used during the Games will be permanently repurposed afterward as part of efforts to make the event more sustainable. See more on the economics of the Olympics here. 

Gannett Sues Google

Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the US, filed a federal lawsuit against Google and its parent company, Alphabet, yesterday. Gannett claims the tech giant is violating antitrust laws by holding a monopoly over the digital advertising business and controlling how publishers buy and sell ads online, leading to less revenue for publishers and Google's ad rivals. 

Google has led the US digital advertising market for years, though the company appears to be losing its hold on the space due to competition from TikTok and Amazon. In 2022, Google earned $224B from its digital advertising business, making up nearly 80% of its overall revenue. Gannett's complaint alleges Google earned more than $30B in revenue from selling ads to publishers in 2022—six times more than the combined digital advertising revenue of all US news publishers. 

Google also faces antitrust challenges from the US Justice Department, which filed a suit in January, and the European Commission, which filed a similar case last week. 

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