The trial of Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, is set to kickoff with jury selection in Los Angeles federal court on charges related to irregularities in his tax affairs. This event adds yet another charge to the increasing list of legal troubles for the President’s son. Hunter Biden, currently 54, found himself confronted with a mixed bag of three felony and six misdemeanor charges in December. These charges accused him of tax evasion during a period in which he admits to having been disturbed by drug addiction, and continued even after he claimed to have sobered up.
The indictment levied against Hunter Biden underlined that instead of fulfilling his tax obligations, he squandered millions of dollars on an over-the-top lifestyle. Subsequently, the prosecuting team presented that Hunter Biden had orchestrated a meticulously planned four-year strategy to evade at least $1.4 million in self-reported federal taxes from 2016 to 2019, and up till October 15, 2020. This calendar of events also saw him filing fraudulent returns for the tax year 2018 in February 2020.
Despite the mounting evidence and allegations, Hunter Biden plea against all charges was one of not guilty. The court expects the jury selection process to span up to two days, with initial statements tentatively expected by Monday. Meanwhile, the prosecuting team estimated that their narrative of events will require a span of six days to present before the jury and involves testimonies from over two dozen witnesses.
The case against Hunter Biden is being led by Special Counsel David Weiss and is predicted to spotlight a plethora of embarrassing details about the extravagant spending and drug habits of the President’s son. Indictment files highlight that the squandered money was largely spent on drugs, escorts, luxury accommodations, flashy cars and clothes with absolutely no contributions towards his taxes. Obviously, priorities for him seemed a little off.
Details provided in the indictment paint a lurid picture of Hunter Biden’s spending habits. Among others, these included $1.6 million in ATM withdrawals, $683,000 on ‘various women’, and a whopping $188,000 on ‘adult entertainment’. Meanwhile, his taxes were buried somewhere at the bottom of his priority list.
The prosecution’s allegations against Hunter Biden extend beyond simple off-the-books spending. Prosecutors assert that the tax returns he eventually filed were entirely fraudulent. Hunter Biden, in an audacious move, attempted to write off his payments to escorts and a variety of other inappropriate expenses as ‘business expenses’.
Mark Geragos, attorney to Hunter Biden, attempted to suppress details of his client’s reckless lifestyle from the court proceedings. He argued that these tantalising tidbits regarding his client’s spending habits were of no consequence to the charges at hand. Prosecutor Leo Wise begs to differ, asserting that the specifics of Hunter’s expenses hold importance, given that he attempted to pass off escort payments as business-related expenses.
The presiding U.S. District Judge, Mark C. Scarsi, urged both parties to agree upon the nature of lifestyle evidence that could be introduced during the proceedings. Scarsi indicated that the admissibility of any such evidence relating to Hunter Biden’s lifestyle and personal expenses would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Additionally, Geragos requested the court to consider evidence of past traumatic incidents that may have contributed to Hunter Biden’s addiction nightmares, including an incident when the death of his mother and sister in a car accident when he was just three. Attempting to paint a sympathetic image, Geragos argued that the ‘DOJ is attempting to paint an image of a jovial man partying away without providing context about his tumultuous past’.
However, Scarsi declined this attempt to muddy the waters of the trial with unrelated past traumas, labeling the car accident as a distant event and that the causes for Hunter Biden’s addiction have no bearing to whether or not he’s guilty of the accused financial crimes.
Hunter Biden’s history of addiction is not a new aspect in his legal scrutiny. Earlier this year, another case led by Weiss’ office in Delaware centered on this very aspect. That case saw Hunter Biden convicted on three felony counts related to illegal firearm possession while under the heavy influence of narcotics.
Hunter Biden’s sentencing in the aforementioned case is set for November 12. Although convicted, he’s announced plans to appeal the conviction. Regardless of the outcome, these constant legal troubles certainly cast a shadow over the Biden administration, leading the public to question the character of the President’s family.