Before District Judge Mark Scarsi in the Central District of California on Thursday, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to nine federal tax charges. Federal prosecutors charged Hunter Biden in December with nine counts of tax crimes, including three felony and six misdemeanor charges 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 Hunter Biden earned more than $7 million in gross income when he failed to pay taxes. They said he funded an “extravagant lifestyle” and evaded taxes by classifying some personal expenditures as business deductions. His indictments came after a plea agreement on two misdemeanor tax charges and a diversion agreement stemming from the firearms charge unraveled in court in July 2023 when the judge questioned whether the agreement would allow Hunter Biden to avoid potential future charges, as well as the charges related to his taxes.
The tax charges filed in California were brought by special counsel David Weiss in the second federal indictment of the president’s son secured by his office. Weiss, who was appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware by former President Donald Trump and named special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2023, charged Hunter Biden with three felony gun charges in the state of Delaware, related to his alleged unlawful possession of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty to the gun charges in October.
The hearing is still underway where the conditions of his release and the timing for the case and timing for pre-trial motions will likely be determined.
Editorial credit: Potashev Aleksandr / Shutterstock.com