The legal representative for Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, charged prosecutors on Wednesday of carrying a vindictive campaign to tarnish his image insensitively in a forthcoming trial dealing with federal tax charges. The unsavory details of debauchery and ostentatious spending are vehemently sought to be highlighted by the prosecution at the trial. The court proceedings in Los Angeles were marked by an exhaustive hearing during which Hunter Biden’s attorney accused David Weiss’ special counsel team of ruthlessly attempting an ‘character assassination’ via the introduction of case evidence indicating Hunter Biden’s failure to remit $1.4 million in taxes.
The defense attorney Geragos shared these charges while both sides were engaged in a fiercely contested debate lasting several hours over the permissible limit of evidence and testimony that can be introduced during the trial starting early next month. This marks the second visit to the criminal trial for Hunter Biden within a span of a few months, adding a stain to the already embattled Biden regime. Earlier in June, the trial witnessed his conviction on three felony charges pertaining to a separate federal case revolving around the acquisition of a firearm in 2018.
Despite his convictions, Hunter Biden has proclaimed his innocence, pleading not guilty. His lawyers have offered an intriguing defense, hinting towards him acting innocently without any criminal intent. However, the weak defense strategy involves exploiting Hunter Biden’s well-known issues with addiction during the time period in question. The defense insists that the effects of drug and alcohol abuse drastically affected his ability to make sound judgments and decisions, forming a key argument in their case that their client was unable to form criminal intent for the charged crimes.
The prosecutor, Leo Wise, however, counter-argued by offering examples such as payments made to a pornographic website by Hunter Biden that illustratively suggest that these non-business expenses were intentionally recorded as business expenses. The prosecution intends to sufficiently demonstrate the difference between an accidental and intentional recording of these expenses. Interestingly, elaborate accounts of wild partying in California were found in Hunter Biden’s memoir, further providing damning evidence against his shaky defense.
The defense for Hunter Biden previously hoped to usher into testimony, the emotional memories from the death of his brother Beau in 2015 as well as the tragic loss of his mother and sister during his childhood. The defense intended to paint a picture of traumatic experiences that could provide context to his reported drug use in the years corresponding to when he was alleged to have defaulted on his tax payments. However, such arguments appear feeble attempts to divert attention from the real issues at hand.
In a surprising twist last year, there was a proposal for Hunter Biden to plead guilty to offenses of slight tax infringements as part of an agreement with prosecutors. What seemed like a get-out-of-jail-free card would have given him immunity from prosecution in the gun case, conditional on his remaining trouble-free thereafter. Alas for the Biden clan, this potential plea deal disintegrated after a Delaware federal judge voiced reservations about it, leading to Hunter’s subsequent indictment in both cases.
These continuous charges and trials surrounding the president’s son paint a rather unflattering picture of the Biden administration. The ongoing debacle of a second trial, involving high expenses and debauchery rather than a real service to the nation, is hardly becoming of his status as the son of a sitting president. This case raises serious ethical questions about the people in power and how they are choosing to lead.
The staggering amount of $1.4 million in unpaid taxes is not a trivial matter that can be overshadowed by tales of addiction or loss. It’s indicative of a disregard for the law and a level of irresponsibility unbecoming of any citizen, let alone the son of the president. Furthermore, the havering explanations that Hunter’s state of addiction prevented him from meeting his legal obligations can hardly stand up to scrutiny in the court of law.
The prosecution’s bid to unravel instances of binge drinking and indulgence in adult content websites, underlining Hunter’s attempts to pass these off as business expenses, is also a shocking revelation. This attempt to blur the lines between personal indulgence and professional expenses raises a question mark on the character of the man under trial and those associated with him, namely President Joe Biden.
If these charges hold in court, this would not be Hunter’s first transgression. He had already been found guilty on three felony charges pertaining to a separate federal case associated with illegal acquisition of a firearm in 2018. Despite these transgressions, the defense seems to believe that pleading not guilty and pushing forward with the ‘no ill intent’ narrative will somehow absolve him of all charges. This raises doubts about the judgment or even the ethics of those who are defending him.
Hunter’s defense attempting to leverage tragic events such as the death of his brother Beau in 2015, and the loss of his mother and sister during childhood, seems a desperate attempt in forming a credible defense. As much as the defense argues for contextualizing his actions within these events, it dangerously runs the risk of coinning distraction from the main elements of the case, i.e., his financial wrongdoing and lack of respect for law and order.
Had the plea deal not fallen apart last year, Hunter would have had an easy escape route. However, the disapproval by a Delaware federal judge upended all such hopes, taking him back to square one. This showcases that not every wrong can be dismissed with settlements, and justice does prevail in the end.