Hunter Biden: I’m the victim of vigilante justice in tax case
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A US judge appeared sceptical of Hunter Biden’s claim he is the victim of “vigilante justice” in the latest attempt to get his tax evasion charges thrown out of court.
The president’s son, 54, argues the case against him is the result of prosecutors caving to political pressure from Republicans intent on pursuing his father.
But he faced a dubious audience from the presiding judge, Mark Scarsi, who asked whether Mr Biden’s lawyers “have any evidence” to back up their arguments.
Mr Biden faces nine counts for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while spending heavily on drugs, escorts, and luxury cars and clothes. His lawyer has said he paid back the money in full.
In court in Los Angeles, Mr Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, made yet another effort to quash the case, which is scheduled to come to trial in California on June 20.
He said while his client did “clearly stupid things”, he paid the taxes he owed in full.
He faces a separate trial in Delaware on June 3 over allegations he owned a gun for 11 days in 2018 while abusing drugs.
Trials will feature in presidential race
He is the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges, and his looming trials are likely to feature extensively in the presidential race between his 81-year-old father and Donald Trump, 77.
Mr Biden has pleaded not guilty in both cases, which have been brought by special counsel David Weiss.
Mr Weiss has accused Mr Biden’s team of spreading “conspiracy theories” about the prosecution in their effort to have the cases dismissed.
In their arguments before Judge Mark Scarsi, Mr Biden’s team claimed Mr Weiss brought the tax case because he “bowed to political pressure” from Republicans who criticised a proposed plea agreement covering the tax and gun charges as a “sweetheart deal”.
“Mr Biden is being targeted because of his political and familial affiliations,” the lawyers said.
Prosecutors deny claims of appeasing politicians
They also argued the case should be thrown out because of the earlier plea arrangement, which collapsed under questioning from a federal judge last year.
Prosecutors have said it never took effect and denied claims their actions were designed “to appease politicians who have absolutely nothing to do with the prosecution”.
In another motion to get the case dismissed, Mr Biden’s lawyers argued the case had been irreparably tainted by the actions of two IRS agents who worked on the criminal investigation but later became whistleblowers and co-operated with a Republican impeachment inquiry into the president and his relatives.
The two agents, the lawyers said, had taken “the law into their own hands” by leaking his tax records and pursued “vigilante justice in the court of public opinion”.
Leo Wise, one of the prosecutors on the case, said it was “patently absurd” that the agents had influenced prosecutors.
Judge Scarsi concluded the hours of legal sparring between the two sides by saying he would announce his decision on whether the case continues to go to trial by April 17.
His probing of Mr Lowell in court on Wednesday suggested he took a dim view of Mr Biden’s arguments.
“There doesn’t seem to be any evidence” that Republicans “influenced the prosecutors’ decision other than the timeline,” Judge Scarsi said, calling Mr Lowell’s arguments “smoke” without “fire”.
“It’s a timeline, but it’s a pretty juicy timeline,” Mr Lowell replied.
If convicted of the tax charges, the president’s son could receive a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.
