Hunter Biden Faces June Trial After Court Dismisses Attempt to Quash Tax Charges
Debarylife – Hunter Biden suffered a major blow late on Monday when US District Judge Mark Scarsi turned down all eight of the first son’s requests to have his nine-count tax indictment in California dismissed.
This means that a trial is scheduled for June 20. Biden’s legal team, headed by lawyer Abbe Lowell, lost the case because the judge found that the allegations were “selective and vindictive” and that the prosecution had given in to political pressure.
In a statement released after the verdict, Lowell stated that he strongly disagreed with the court’s judgment and vowed to keep pursuing Biden’s objections to the “abnormal way” special counsel David Weiss conducted the investigation and brought charges. The lawyer’s remarks emphasize how difficult the processes are going to be and how much is at risk for both parties.
Judge Scarsi, a Trump appointee sitting in the Central District of California, methodically rejected every one of Biden’s justifications for dismissal in an 82-page judgment. The first son had maintained that the tax charges were against the provisions of the diversion agreement and that an immunity clause from a rejected plea agreement last summer still stood. In addition, he said that the prosecution was trying to “backtrack and renege” on the agreement.
SEE MORE: Hunter Biden’s Attempts to Dismiss Tax Charges Rejected by Judge
In response, special counsel Weiss—who was appointed to the position in August of last year following the collapse of the plea agreement—criticized Biden’s assertions in court documents, calling them a “house of cards,” a “conspiracy theory,” and “shapeshifting claims.” Weiss insisted that during the July 26 hearing, when the arrangement fell through, Biden—not the prosecutors—left the negotiation table.
Nine felonies and misdemeanors were brought against Hunter Biden by the special counsel’s office in December. The allegations stemmed from his nonpayment of $1.4 million in taxes over three years, during which he battled addiction.
The first son has entered a not guilty plea to all charges, even though the outstanding taxes and penalties have subsequently been paid in full by a third party—who ABC News identified as Biden’s lawyer and confidant Kevin Morris.
Judge Scarsi harshly criticized Lowell’s rush of applications to dismiss the tax charges in his order, even pointing out a few factual inaccuracies in some of the documents. “Politicians take credit for many things over which they have no power and have made no impact,” Scarsi stated in a letter. “Just because someone says they influenced a prosecutorial decision does not mean that they did.”
The judge’s ruling paves the way for a trial in California scheduled to begin jury selection on June 20. In the meantime, Hunter Biden is scheduled to stand trial in Delaware on gun-related charges on June 3. His lawyer is also trying to get those charges dropped.
The verdict in these trials could have a big impact on the political scene as a whole as well as on Hunter Biden personally as the legal battles go on. The first son’s legal issues have generated debate and come under close examination from both sides of the political spectrum.
Special counsel Weiss has achieved a major win in his pursuit of the tax allegations against Hunter Biden with Judge Scarsi’s decision. The ruling highlights the difficulties the first son’s attorneys have in putting up a fight against what they describe as an “abnormal” prosecution.