The disclosure of the federal investigation, led by the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware, comes at an awkward moment for the incoming president, who is assembling his Cabinet. His pick for attorney general could have oversight of the investigation into the new president's son if it is still ongoing when Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.
It could also add weight to Trump's broad accusations that Biden was weak on China. Trump took a tough line on China during the campaign as he tried to deflect blame for the coronavirus. Biden has rejected the characterization that he was weak and said, that unlike Trump, he would rebuild global coalitions to check China's power.
He also joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014, sparking concerns about the perceptions of a conflict of interest given the elder Biden was deeply involved in U.S. policy toward Ukraine. An investigation by the Republican-led Senate did not identify any policies that were directly affected by Hunter Biden's work.
The laptop surfaced publicly in October when The New York Post reported on emails that it said had come from Hunter Biden's laptop and that it said it received from Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer.