A conservative legal group has filed a formal misconduct complaint against a wealthy attorney who is a benefactor of Hunter Biden, Kevin Morris, alleging that Mr. Morris is funding Mr. Biden’s lavish lifestyle at the same time as he’s serving as his lawyer — a violation of the California State Bar’s professional code of conduct.  

The complaint also points to photographic evidence that Mr. Morris has used marijuana while Mr. Biden was visiting his home, putting the first son’s recovery from addiction in jeopardy.

The complaint was filed by the America First Legal Group, which was founded by a former senior advisor to President Trump, Stephen Miller, who remains in Mr. Trump’s inner circle. Mr. Miller’s nascent group has scored some impressive victories in the last two years, including getting the courts to strike down a Biden administration plan to give $4 billion to Black farmers in the name of “equity.”

“Until recently, it appears that Kevin Morris may not have had an attorney-client relationship with Hunter Biden. Or at least one would hope not,” Mr. Miller’s group writes in its complaint. 

“Just last year, Mr. Morris was publicly photographed appearing to use marijuana, while Biden, a recovering drug addict, was visiting his home,” the complaint reads. “The year before that, it was reported that Mr. Morris had ‘been funding the 52-year-old’s lifestyle in Los Angeles — including his rent and living expenses.’ Mr. Morris had allegedly paid $2 million in back taxes owed by Biden.”

Mr. Morris, who made his substantial fortune through legal work he did for the creators of “South Park,” struck up a close friendship with Mr. Biden in recent years. Mr. Morris recently helped the first son pay off his substantial tax debts, according to Los Angeles Times. He has also been central to Mr. Biden’s aggressive legal strategy to push back against his antagonists, Los Angeles Times reports.  

America First Legal says that Mr. Morris ignored “the well-established norms of the legal profession” by providing money to Mr. Biden. The House Oversight Committee recently disclosed that Mr. Morris had purchased more than $800,000 worth of art from Mr. Biden even though the first son had been a painter for only a few months.

Mr. Morris has never formally represented Mr. Biden in court, but America First Legal says that because he attends congressional hearings and court appearances with the first son, he is effectively acting as legal counsel. 

“Mr. Morris’s provision of funds to his client patently violates Rule 1.8.5 and an investigation into this matter is warranted,” the group argues. “Therefore, we request that you open an investigation into Kevin Morris to adjudicate whether the California Rules of Professional Conduct were violated.”

Mr. Morris first became a subject of press speculation when Mr. Biden was in the middle of an ugly paternity dispute with a former adult dancer, Lunden Roberts, with whom Mr. Biden had had a child. The first son initially disputed his paternity and later, after medical testing proved he was the child’s father, engaged Ms. Roberts in a lengthy court battle over child support. Mr. Morris on several occasions loaned Mr. Biden his private jet to make court-mandated appearances in Arkansas for legal hearings.

Mr. Morris again made headlines when Mr. Biden was indicted by a grand jury in California for his failure to pay income taxes for several years. The indictment disclosed that it was Mr. Morris who paid off the first son’s tax bill, which totaled more than $2 million at its peak. 

Mr. Morris’s face was shown on every cable news channel in America just a few days ago when he strode into a congressional committee hearing room alongside Mr. Biden and the first son’s principal lawyer, Abbe Lowell. 

The three men sat silently in the audience of the committee room as members were debating holding Mr. Biden in contempt for not complying with their subpoenas that were issued as part of the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Mr. Morris has also been subpoenaed as part of that investigation. 

In addition to the felony tax evasion charges he faces in California, Mr. Biden has been charged with multiple felonies at Delaware for lying about his drug use to buy a handgun in 2018. He is also still under investigation by Special Counsel David Weiss and may face more charges for violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act during his work for clients in Ukraine, China, and other countries. 

The GOP-controlled House is planning to vote to hold Mr. Biden in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena last month to give a closed-door deposition to GOP impeachment investigators. Mr. Biden recently offered to give the deposition after all, but the House GOP says it is moving forward with the contempt motion until it is certain Mr. Biden will comply with the subpoena.

Mr. Biden’s business affairs are central to the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry, which is looking into Vice President Biden’s role in propping up his son’s consulting business, in which the first son brought in millions of dollars by trading on the the Biden name.