Hunter Biden keeps receiving negative news. The president’s son faced a major legal obstacle on Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi rejected the defense team’s claims in an attempt to have the federal tax charges against Biden dropped. This now suggests that, should the charges progress, a trial may be imminent.
Hunter’s attorneys sparred with the special counsel David Weiss’s team during the hearing in Los Angeles. Weiss watched from the crowd.
The defense contended that due to allegations of “outrageous” partisan wrongdoing and supposed protection from a prior plea agreement, the felony tax indictment against Hunter—which accuses him of failing to file and pay taxes on time and using illegal tax-evasion tactics—should be dropped.
Judge Scarsi, however, drew attention to the dearth of factual evidence that connected the accusations to congressional inquiries into the Biden family’s financial affairs or Republican political intentions. According to Scarsi, “one of the major obstacles this motion has is that it’s not filed with any evidence,” The Washington Post said.
According to CNN, Judge Scarsi repeatedly refuted Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell’s claim that his client was the victim of prosecution because Weiss gave in to pressure from House Republicans and former President Donald Trump.
“It’s a timeline,” asserted Lowell, “but it’s a juicy timeline.” “There is nothing regular with how this case was initiated and investigated,” he continued, alleging that political pressure had an impact on the prosecutors and that some of the “Russian disinformation” used in their investigation came from a discredited FBI informant.
Judge Scarsi specifically rejected the defense’s allegation of “selective and vindictive” prosecution, pointing out that there was insufficient proof to back up this assertion. The immunity agreement from a previous settlement to resolve tax and firearms charges against Hunter Biden was also discussed; according to Biden’s attorneys, this agreement should remain in place.
Prosecutor Leo Wise countered that the Justice Department was free to pursue further charges because the first plea agreement fell through and did not bind it to its conditions.
The prospect of a trial for Hunter Biden in June, during the 2024 presidential race, intensifies the political drama surrounding the court cases. When the election year began in the spring, his father found it difficult to gather steam.
The judge’s viewpoint was not greatly impacted by the defense’s attempt to relate the accusations to outside pressure from former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, which made it more difficult to establish such links in court.
Hunter is accused of fabricating his business expenses, underreporting his revenue, and not filing tax returns for a period of three years, among other nine tax infractions.
Judge Scarsi’s ruling, which is anticipated by April 17 of next month, will decide whether Hunter will go to trial or whether a negotiated settlement is possible.
“We are just looking at the facts and law,” said Scarsi. “All of the aspersions cast off one another just roll off.”
