The DOJ is investigating a Democratic consulting firm that worked with Burisma Holdings, report says

• The DOJ is investigating whether Blue Star Strategies broke lobbying laws, Politico reported.
• The firm worked with the energy company Burisma while Hunter Biden was on its board, Politico said.
• There is no evidence that Hunter Biden is a target of the investigation, the report said.

The Department of Justice is investigating whether a Democratic consulting firm that worked with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings broke lobbying laws, Politico's Betsy Woodruff Swan and Daniel Lippman reported Thursday, citing four people with knowledge of the matter.

The DOJ is said to be focused on Blue Star's work with Burisma when President Joe Biden's son Hunter served on Burisma's board, the report said. There is no evidence that Hunter Biden is a target of the criminal investigation.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires that American citizens notify the Justice Department of any contacts they have with foreign governments or officials and whether they interact with the US government or media at the direction of those officials.

If Blue Star failed to disclose its work for Burisma, it could be a violation of FARA. According to Politico, the consulting firm did not mention in federal lobbying databases that it counted Burisma as a client.

There is nothing to suggest that Hunter Biden is being investigated, Politico reported, adding that one of Blue Star's cofounders had testified that Biden did not direct any of her company's work for Burisma. He served on the company's board of directors from 2014 until April 2019.

Blue Star and the White House did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. The DOJ declined to comment.

Hunter Biden's relationship with Burisma was a central focus for Republicans seeking to discredit his father during the 2020 presidential campaign. The Senate Homeland Security Committee and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee released a joint report in November 2020 examining the Bidens' ties to Ukrainian interests.

Both committees were controlled by Republicans at the time, and Sen. Ron Johnson, the chair of the homeland-security panel, publicly said he hoped his investigation would help then-President Donald Trump's chances as he faced off against Biden in the general election. The 87-page report ultimately found no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens.

In July 2019, Trump himself asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to "look into" the Bidens' activities, a move that led to Trump's first impeachment by the House of Representatives.

Witnesses testified during Trump's impeachment hearings that there was no evidence that Joe or Hunter Biden ran afoul of US laws or foreign policy when the younger Biden joined Burisma's board, though the State Department official George Kent said the optics were questionable.

Hunter Biden is the focus of a separate, ongoing Justice Department investigation into his taxes and foreign business dealings. He revealed the existence of the inquiry in December.

"I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs," he said in a statement on December 9. "I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors."