The many faces of Kevin Morris, Hunter Biden’s financial patron

“Who was the real me? Again, I was a person with many faces.”

These words by author Milan Kundera could very well have been written to Kevin Morris, a key figure in the unraveling Hunter Biden scandal.

Mr. Morris was unknown to most until he emerged as a Democratic donor who reportedly paid millions of dollars to the president's son to settle unpaid taxes and maintain a lavish lifestyle. Ta. The Hollywood lawyer and producer portrayed himself on a Biblical scale as a good Samaritan, a good man who found a desperate stranger on the street and gave him more than $5 million.

His general counsel, Brian M. Sullivan, said “Hunter is not only Kevin's client, he is his friend, and he is determined to help a friend in need, despite the Republican Party chairman and his allies' inability to imagine such a thing. There are no prohibitions.”

This statement captures Morris' problem. It's becoming increasingly difficult to determine who Morris was at any given moment: Democratic donor, lawyer, friend. In fact, that's exactly the question some of us have been raising for months.

Lawyers should not personally pay their clients' bills.Specifically, the California bar Rule 1.8.5(a) says.[a] A lawyer shall not pay or agree to pay, directly or indirectly, any personal or business expenses of a prospective or existing client that the lawyer or the lawyer's law firm guarantees will be paid. or shall not be expressed. ” You are expected to maintain clear expressive boundaries. This is also a hot topic now, new bar complaints The conservative legal group filed this week.

my friend has explained Morris admits that he is a “rule breaker” and that his relationship with Hunter has raised eyebrows. “He's certainly careless, but he's a gunslinger,” one told the Los Angeles Times. “This is the way he rolls.”

But legal and ethical rules are designed to avoid the use of guns in general and to avoid ambiguity in particular.

Hunter calls him both his lawyer and his “brother.”Chief Attorney Abby Rowell observed“I have never known anyone like Kevin to represent another client, other than within the client's immediate family.”

When the relationship began, Morris was playing the role of a loyal Democratic donor.

He was introduced to Hunter. Political fundraising in 2019 With another producer and the Democratic Party's ample financial power, Lanette Phillips. Shortly after, Morris gave Hunter a large sum of money and legal advice. This reportedly includes paying off taxes that Mr. Hunter had been in arrears with for years before he faced criminal charges. Hunter's lavish lifestyle was also featured.

The last thing Mr. Morris wants to do is avoid being labeled a “Democratic donor” because these payments could be considered unreported campaign contributions. unknown. Morris first appeared during Joe Biden's presidential campaign. And on February 7, 2020, shortly after he took office, Mr Morris warned that the tax presented “considerable personal and political risks.” He seems to have tried to resolve his political liability by paying taxes. He claimed that he was being treated as a loan.

These payments will continue, but Morris insists they were all standard “loans.” However, he was not a banker and Hunter was routinely referred to as his “customer.”

It is also important that these million dollars be treated as loans, as this could create new tax issues if these were actually gifts. Hunters would have to declare such “gifts” and taxes would be due on their value.

Given Hunter's history of harassing various companies and parties, few would think the loan would be a good risk. In fact, he reportedly also had trouble paying alleged high-class prostitutes.he was even accused He is suspected of using a credit card connected to his father to pay for an alleged Russian call girl.Even an art dealer who recently sold Hunter's art. reportedly Hunter testified that he never repaid the show's expenses.

These art sales add an interesting twist to Morris' mysterious role.Recently, an art dealer Georges Berger It blasted the White House's claim that Hunter was prohibited from knowing the names of the buyers under the comprehensive ethics system. He acknowledged that Hunter knew the identities of 70 percent of the buyers.

It wasn't difficult. Despite news reports that buyers rushed to buy the art, it now appears that Morris was the main buyer of the art. Notably, however, Morris reportedly only paid Berges a 40% commission on the $875,000 purchase. It is unclear whether Morris applied his principal to the outstanding debt. If the money is to be used for that purpose, it would be wise to treat it as a loan. All you have to do is have your hunters create a suspicious piece of art and arrange for your allies to host an art show in New York.Then ask your media partners to write how The buyer was “fascinated” by Hunter's talent.

Finally, you pay a fee on the excess value of the art while amortizing the value of the art as a type of in-kind payment on the loan. Some of the pieces were worth nearly $500,000, and many scoffed at the fact that Hunter was making more than Pablo Picasso's sales. But these inflated prices can help you count as a direct or indirect payment on your loan.

It is not yet known how these purchases and loans were handled, or whether Morris acted as a donor, friend, or attorney. Now, Morris is adding a new role to this pile of identities. reportedly I'm backing a new movie about Hunter Biden.

Please call me “Mr.” Biden Goes to Washington is a rewrite of the Frank Capra classic, only this time the corrupt establishment wins.

In the original film, a young recruit to the U.S. Senate fights corruption in Washington, where senior senators have sold access and influence to wealthy businessman James Taylor. Taylor scoffs at his idea that he might challenge the establishment. After all, they control what the media and the public read and hear. Taylor promised senior senators: I’ve done that all my life…leave public opinion to me. ”

Mr. Morris still struggles to shape public opinion, and in Hollywood, movies create reality.

Mr. Morris is “shaping public opinion” and the media is expected to support such efforts as well.

Many in Washington believe Hunter's stunt of defying subpoenas, holding a press conference and later crushing his own contempt hearing was literally a made-for-TV moment. These scenes were captured on film and will no doubt be featured in a new movie depicting his heroic struggle.

The problem is the audience for the movie. Obviously, at the Beltway, audiences will be sobbing with emotion as they watch Hunter battle an influence-trafficking investigation. They'll cheer the moment Joe Biden channels John Wayne. declared“Nobody makes fun of Biden.”

But if the original film had ended with corrupt Sen. Joseph Payne and wealthy Taylor emerging victorious against the do-gooders and supporting “Boy Rangers,” most audiences would have felt the same thrill. I'm sure you didn't feel it. Jimmy Stewart's main character.

The question is, who will play Morris, or more precisely, how many people will play this “man of many faces”?

Jonathan Turley is the JB and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University School of Law.