With Joe Biden surging, Hunter Biden faces fresh scrutiny

LOS ANGELES — When Joe Biden gave his victory speech after winning a series of key states in Super Tuesday, his son Hunter Biden, a Los Angeles resident, was nowhere near the scene.

With the former vice president now effectively in a one-on-one race with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, the younger Biden's absence was conspicuous. Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine were part of the fact set in President Trump's impeachment. And unlike Joe Biden's late son Beau, a Delaware attorney general, Hunter's name is almost never mentioned on the campaign trail.

That's likely about to change.

For months, top GOP figures have been obsessed with Hunter Biden. The Republican National Committee and Trump's reelection campaign allege corruption because Biden, 50, worked at the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings and made up to $50,000 a month for the job.

The attacks subsided when it seemed Biden was on the ropes politically, with big losses in the early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

But Biden's resounding win in South Carolina brought the GOP back to reality. The candidate who many party insiders believe has the best shot at defeating Trump in November is in the strongest position to win the Democratic nomination since he first announced.