Hunter Biden Asks Los Angeles Judge to Toss out $1.4m Tax Evasion Case – Lawyers representing Hunter Biden requested a dismissal of the criminal case alleging tax evasion amounting to $1.4 million in front of a US judge in Los Angeles. They contended that prosecutors yielded to political pressure from Republican lawmakers probing his father, Joe Biden.
Hunter’s legal team presented various legal challenges to the charges before US District Judge Mark Scarsi in federal court in Los Angeles, asserting that he was singled out by prosecutors in reaction to Republican scrutiny. Hunter, aged 54, did not attend the courtroom proceedings. Hunter has entered a plea of not guilty regarding allegations of not paying $1.4 million in taxes spanning from 2016 to 2019, despite reportedly spending millions on substances, companions, luxury vehicles, and other high-value purchases.
His attorney has stated that he has fully reimbursed the owed amount. US District Judge Mark Scarsi seemed hesitant to entertain the request for dismissal. During the hearing, Scarsi inquired whether Hunter’s legal team possessed any evidence indicating that prosecutors succumbed to pressure from Republicans, beyond the timing of the charges, which followed months of accusations by Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump suggesting leniency in treatment.
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“Do you have any evidence other than the timeline?” Scarsi asked Hunter’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell. Lowell acknowledged that “it’s a timeline, but it’s a juicy timeline.” Scarsi also expressed doubt regarding the argument put forth by Hunter’s defense team that prosecutors were influenced by two Internal Revenue Service agents who publicly disclosed information about his tax returns last year.
“How are they responsible for what’s in the indictment?” Scarsi asked. “I can’t make the connection that that’s why that happened,” Lowell said, later adding that: “It was those two agents that started the dominoes.” Leo Wise, one of the prosecutors on the case, said it was “patently absurd” that the agents had influenced prosecutors.
The trial of the president’s youngest son is scheduled to commence in June, just a few months before Americans cast their votes in the November presidential election, which appears to be shaping up as a closely contested and deeply divisive competition between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Additionally, Hunter faces a separate criminal case in federal court in Delaware concerning his alleged acquisition of a handgun while under the influence of illegal substances.
He has pleaded not guilty and presented similar arguments for dismissing the charges in that case. Special Counsel David Weiss, who initiated both cases, has accused Hunter Biden’s legal team of spreading “conspiracy theories” about the prosecution. He has affirmed that the Justice Department would not act under the influence of Republican lawmakers, who are conducting an impeachment inquiry to determine if Joe Biden benefited from his son’s activities.
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However, the investigation has failed to uncover any evidence suggesting that the president personally gained from these activities. Furthermore, Hunter is attempting to challenge the charges by asserting that Weiss, who has been investigating him since 2019, was improperly appointed as special counsel.
Hunter’s defense team has also contended that the case is invalidated by a previous plea agreement that the president’s son reached with prosecutors. However, this agreement fell apart under scrutiny from a federal judge last year, with prosecutors asserting that it never became effective.
