Hunter Biden Pleads Not Guilty to Nine Federal Tax Charges
Washington, D.C. – In a hearing before District Judge Mark Scarsi in the Central District of California, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to nine federal tax charges. The conditions of his release and the timing for pre-trial motions are yet to be determined as the hearing is still ongoing.
Federal prosecutors have accused President Biden’s son of engaging in a “four-year scheme” to evade paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. The charges include three felony and six misdemeanor counts related to his alleged failure to file and pay taxes, evasion of assessment, and filing a false or fraudulent tax return. If convicted, Hunter Biden faces up to 17 years in prison.
In the 56-page indictment, prosecutors alleged that Hunter Biden earned more than $7 million in gross income and failed to pay taxes. They claimed that he funded an “extravagant lifestyle” and evaded taxes by classifying personal expenditures, such as luxury hotel stays, luxury vehicle rentals, and escort services, as business deductions.
These tax charges were filed in California, Hunter Biden’s state of residence, by special counsel David Weiss. This marks the second federal indictment secured by Weiss’s office, the first being three felony gun charges in Delaware related to Hunter Biden’s alleged unlawful possession of a firearm. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the gun charges in October.
The tax charges and other legal issues have stirred controversy, with Republican-led congressional committees probing into Hunter Biden’s personal finances and foreign business dealings. These investigations have led to an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, investigating whether senior officials impeded criminal probes into the president’s son and whether Mr. Biden personally benefited from his family’s business dealings. The investigation has thus far not uncovered any wrongdoing by the president, who has dismissed it as a “baseless political stunt.”
In light of these developments, IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who were previously assigned to investigate Hunter Biden’s finances, informed lawmakers that they had recommended federal charges against the president’s son for tax evasion and other violations. They alleged facing resistance and a pattern of preferential treatment in the federal investigation into Biden’s finances.
Weiss denied these claims, stating that he had not been blocked or impeded in pursuing charges. Nonetheless, in August 2023, Weiss told Attorney General Merrick Garland that he felt the special counsel designation was necessary, which was subsequently granted.
On Wednesday, Hunter Biden made an unexpected appearance on Capitol Hill before the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary committees. The committees voted to advance resolutions to hold Hunter Biden in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena to appear for a closed-door deposition. Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, called closed-door depositions “a tactic Republicans have repeatedly misused in their political crusade to selectively leak and mischaracterize what witnesses have said.”
As the legal and political battles continue to unfold, the public and lawmakers are closely following the developments surrounding Hunter Biden and his legal troubles.