Early next year, President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, will appear in court for the first time in his felony tax case.
Court date set in Hunter Biden’s California tax casehttps://t.co/ewG0r9UEu9 pic.twitter.com/7L9nh9c2pT
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 19, 2023
According to California federal court’s calendar, Hunter’s arraignment is set for Jan. 11 with Judge Alka Sagar presiding over the case.
Hunter faces three felony and six misdemeanor counts in the case in which he is accused of failing to pay his tax bills while spending millions on an extravagant lifestyle. The felony charges include one count of tax evasion and two counts of filing of a false tax return. The misdemeanor counts include failure to file tax returns and failure to pay.
Per the 96-page indictment, Hunter “willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes.”
A press release by Special Counsel David C. Weiss revealed that Hunter also failed to pay his taxes from 2016 to 2019 on time even though he was capable of making full or partial payment. He also failed to file his tax returns for 2017 and 2018 on time and when he filed the one for 2018, it was a fraudulent one.
Per prosecutors, Hunter tried to reduce the tax liability he faced as of 2020 by putting in false business deductions in his 2018 tax returns.
His defense is based on claims that he is being targeted due to his connection with his father.
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” his attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement after the indictment came out.
The charges come after a plea deal also involving Hunter’s gun charges fell apart. The deal would have cut down his jail time if he got convicted. However, he now faces up to 17 years in prison for the tax charges. He also faces federal gun charges in Delaware where he is accused of breaking laws against drug users acquiring a gun by concealing his drug use while purchasing one in 2018.
