Achi news desk-
Last Updated: March 28, 2024, 09:42 IST
Los Angeles, United States of America (USA)
The claim that Hunter Biden leveraged his father’s name for personal gain has been central to the Republican narrative, pushed heavily by Donald Trump, that Joe Biden is corrupt. (Image: AP Photo)
Attorneys for Hunter Biden are seeking to dismiss a $1.4M tax evasion case, claiming it is politically motivated. A legal battle ensues amid a wider political drama
Hunter Biden’s attorneys asked a judge Wednesday to throw out the tax case accusing him of a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle.
President Joe Biden’s son has pleaded not guilty to nine felony and tax misdemeanor charges. His attorneys argued the prosecution was politically motivated, tainted by leaks from IRS agents who publicly alleged the case was mishandled and includes some allegations before he moved to California.
Prosecutors framed the allegations as far-fetched during the three-hour hearing. Prosecutor Leo Wise scoffed at the idea that the case was tainted by IRS agents “who I couldn’t have picked out of the group.” On the other hand, defense lawyer Abbe Lowell said the case was hopelessly tainted by partisan politics, calling it “the least common prosecution one could imagine.”
US District Judge Mark C. Scarsi seemed skeptical, telling Lowell that the hard evidence for some of his claims was lacking. “You cite a lot of things on the internet,” he said. Scarsi said he would likely rule on impeachment motions by April 17. Hunter Biden is also accused in Delaware of lying on a federal form to buy a gun in 2018 by saying he did not use or be addicted to illegal drugs , although he has acknowledged that he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time.
He has pleaded not guilty in that case, which also accuses him of being in illegal possession of the gun. Both cases are being overseen by special counsel David Weiss and tentative trials are now scheduled for June, although defense attorneys are also seeking to drop the Delaware gun charges. The two sets of charges come from a year-long federal investigation that was expected to end over the summer with a plea agreement in which Hunter Biden would have had two years of probation after pleading guilty to fraudulent tax payments.
The president’s son, who has since repaid the back taxes with a loan, would also have avoided prosecution on the gun charge if he had stayed out of trouble. Defense attorneys argue that immunity provisions in the deal were signed by a prosecutor and are still in effect, though prosecutors disagree. But the deal that could have saved Hunter Biden from the scene of a criminal trial during the 2024 presidential campaign came after a federal judge in Delaware began to question it.
Now, the tax and gun cases are moving forward as part of an unprecedented confluence of political and legal drama: As the November election nears, the Justice Department is prosecuting the son of the Democratic president and the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump. Hunter Biden’s original proposed plea deal with prosecutors had been hailed as a “sweet deal” by Republicans, including Trump.
The former president faces his own criminal problems – 91 charges across four cases, including that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Hunter Biden’s criminal case also takes place alongside so far unsuccessful efforts by congressional Republicans to connect his business dealings with his father. Republicans are pursuing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, alleging that he is part of an influence peddling scheme with his son.
No evidence has emerged to prove that Joe Biden, as president or previously as vice president, abused his role or accepted bribes, although questions have been raised about the ethics of the Biden family’s international business dealings . In launching their Biden impeachment inquiry last year, House Republicans relied largely on unverified claims by an FBI informant released by Senate Republicans suggesting that payments totaling $10 million were negotiated by Ukrainian energy company Burisma to the Bidens.
Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov was arrested last month in a case also overseen by Weiss. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he fabricated the allegations of bribery. His attorney attended Wednesday’s hearing, although he did not speak in the courtroom. If convicted of the tax payments, Hunter Biden, 53, could receive a maximum of 17 years in prison.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
