Washington — With a verdict in Hunter Biden’s gun trial now rendered, the president’s son is next set to stand trial in California, where he faces nine federal tax charges in a second case brought by special counsel David Weiss.
The president’s son was indicted in December and has pleaded not guilty to all counts. Prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million income taxes for the tax years 2016 through 2019. Weiss and his team claim that Hunter Biden made more than $7 million between 2016 and the fall of 2020, and spent millions on an “extravagant lifestyle” while failing to pay his taxes.
Hunter Biden spent money on “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” according to the indictment.
He is charged with six misdemeanor counts of failure to file his tax returns and pay taxes, one felony count of tax evasion and two felony counts of filing a false return.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers sought to have the indictment tossed out on numerous grounds. They alleged in part that the Justice Department’s investigation into the president’s son has been motivated by politics, Weiss was unlawfully appointed special counsel and a diversion agreement between Hunter Biden and prosecutors remains in effect.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, who is overseeing the case, rejected Hunter Biden’s bids to toss out the charges. A trial in the case was initially set to begin June 20, but Scarsi agreed to push it back to Sept. 5.