Hunter Biden Faces Nine Tax-Related Charges in California Indictment
A federal grand jury in California has indicted Hunter Biden on nine tax-related charges, including three felony counts. This is the second indictment against the president’s son this year as the investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings continues, all amid the backdrop of the 2024 presidential election.
The 56-page indictment was filed last Thursday in a federal court in Los Angeles, California, which is where Hunter Biden was living when he is believed to have engaged in tax evasion crimes.
Among the allegations against the president's son are that he failed to file and pay his taxes on millions from his foreign business dealings, evasion of a tax assessment, and filing a false or fraudulent tax return. The indictment also accuses Biden of misleading his accountants into filing tax returns that listed certain business expenses during a time when he was not conducting business.
The indictment goes into lengthy detail about Biden’s allegedly frivolous spending. It claims that instead of paying his tax bill to the IRS, Biden spent his earnings on an “extravagant lifestyle.”
"Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes," the indictment reads. The nearly $1.4 million Biden owed in taxes between 2016 and 2019 fell in line with his admission of struggling with drug addiction during that time. Those back taxes have since been paid.
The indictment describes an elaborate and sophisticated deception in order to show that Biden “willfully attempted to evade and defeat a substantial income tax,” which is wording set forth in a standard jury instruction for tax evasion
Stanley L. Friedman is a white-collar criminal defense attorney focusing on federal and state tax criminal cases in Los Angeles who was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the Criminal Division in Los Angeles, where he investigated and prosecuted high-dollar and complex tax fraud cases on behalf of the United States Government. Mr. Friedman explains how the government must prove intent and willfulness on the part of Hunter Biden in order to obtain a conviction.
“The indictment describes an elaborate and sophisticated deception in order to show that Biden “willfully attempted to evade and defeat a substantial income tax,” which is wording set forth in a standard jury instruction for tax evasion,” says Mr. Friedman. Similarly, Mr. Friedman points to language in the indictment that alleges Hunter Biden “willfully failed to file” a return, which he says is wording drawn from the jury instruction applicable to charges involving failure to file. Finally, Mr. Friedman points to the jury instruction related to the charge of filing a false or fraudulent tax return, under which the government will be required to prove that Biden filed a tax return he “did not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter..:”
“As one can see,” says Mr. Friedman, “the intent and willfulness of Hunter Biden is an important element that the government must prove in order to get a conviction.” Friedman goes on to explain, “It is for this reason that the indictment includes personal and salacious information. It demonstrates sophistication and purpose in engaging in the alleged tax cheating and failure to file.”
Mr. Friedman cites a seminal U.S. Supreme Court decision, Cheek v. United States, for a definition of willfulness. There, says Mr. Friedman, the High Court defined willfulness as follows: “Willfulness…requires the Government to prove that the law imposed a duty on the defendant, that the defendant knew of this duty, and that he voluntarily and intentionally violated that duty.”
The charges were brought forward by Trump-appointed special counsel David Weiss. Weiss was appointed as special counsel in August to oversee the investigation into Hunter Biden by Attorney General Merrick Garland. Trump-appointed district judge Mark C. Scarsi has been assigned to the case.
Weiss previously served as a U.S. attorney in Delaware. In September, Hunter Biden was indicted on federal gun charges in Delaware after he was accused of failing to disclose his drug use while filling out an application to purchase a gun. Another charge accused him of possessing a gun while using narcotics. Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In July, prior to the Delaware indictment, Hunter Biden was set to take a plea deal on two tax charges. The plea deal would have allowed him to evade any jail time. However, that plea deal would eventually collapse. If convicted on these new charges, Biden could face a maximum of 16 years behind bars.
In a statement responding to the indictment, Hunter Biden's defense attorney Abbe Lowell maintained that the charges were purely political. “Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now in California, would have not been brought.” Lowell adds that Weiss “bowed to Republican pressure” and that “no new evidence” has been found.
This new indictment could lead to a court battle that plays out alongside the 2024 presidential campaign which seems likely to see incumbent President Joe Biden go up against Republican candidate Former President Donald Trump. Trump is also facing charges of his own, including two federal cases that are scheduled to go on trial next year. While the Hunter Biden indictment does not mention President Joe Biden, the charges against his son are likely to lead to criticism of the President and the Democratic party on the campaign trail.
