Hunter Biden Pleads Not Guilty To Nine Counts At An LA Federal Court

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, pled not guilty to nine counts of federal tax charges on Thursday in a Los Angeles courtroom, with federal Judge Mark Scarsi setting the trial date for the case to begin on June 20, 2024.

According to an indictment from last month, Biden faces one count of felony tax evasion, two counts of felony filing a false tax return, four misdemeanor counts of failing to pay federal taxes, and two counts of failing to file federal taxes. In total, Biden stands accused of not paying a grand total of $1.4 million in taxes during this time despite evidence that he had spent millions on maintaining a luxurious lifestyle. If convicted, Biden faces up to 17 years in prison.

“The Defendant engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019,” the indictment said, which was filed last year at the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. “Instead, the defendant spent huge sums on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, including over $70,000 on drug rehabilitation.”

“The Defendant had a legal obligation to pay taxes on all his income, including income earned in Ukraine from his service on Burisma’s Board, fees generated by deal-making with the Chinese private equity fund, as well as income derived from his work as a lawyer and other sources. In 2018 alone, Hunter Biden spent more than $1.8 million, including approximately $772,000 in cash withdrawals, approximately $383,000 in payments to women, approximately $151,000 in clothing and accessories. The Defendant did not use any of these funds to pay his taxes in 2018.”

While Biden’s legal team mounted a defense, saying that the taxes were repaid two years ago and that the charges were unfair, the fact that a grand jury returned an indictment meant that a court date in Los Angeles would be made in the next few weeks. In mid-December, things were finally lined up with the U.S. Department of Justice listing the Biden case, United States v. Robert Hunter Biden, to be held at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Los Angeles on January 11th. In an attempt to help clear his name, Hunter Biden has been trying for the last several weeks to help derail arguments against him, including giving a surprise appearance at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington during a House Committee vote on Wednesday trying to hold him in contempt for ignoring a subpoena.

Biden pleads not guilty

This led to Hunter Biden’s arraignment on Thursday. Biden pled not guilty to all charges, with Judge Scarsi then quickly setting a trail date to begin in June, less than five months before election day where his father is hoping to get re-election. Motions were also set to be due on February 20th, with the next pre-trial hearing in the case being  slotted for March 27th.

“I’m kind of keeping you on a tight schedule. We like to move things along,” said Scarsi.

Both prosecutor Leo Wise and Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell agreed to the dates and terms, with Wise adding that some discovery in the concurrent case with Biden in Delaware will be used in the California case, and Lowell noting that the Delaware case has yet to have any dates assigned to it.

Legal experts noted to the Globe on Thursday that everything surrounding the case has been usual to this point, although with Biden’s trials coming close to his fathers election, things could get complicated.

“Legally speaking, this has all been pretty normal,” Monte Schmidt, a tax law specialist, told the Globe on Thursday. “Nothing all that out of the ordinary. No surprise that he pled not guilty. Besides the media circus outside, but that can be attributed to who the case is on and not what. A deal can still be made before trial too.”

“The much, much bigger thing is what the trial could potentially do to Biden’s reelection bid. His kid facing trials in multiple states not all that far from the election is a huge. And not only because it happened. No one knows how the trial will go, and that is one big variable for the Biden team. They don’t like surprises, and multiple trials, both in blue states, can very well bring that. Especially in Los Angeles. That city knows how to cover celebrity trials incredibly well, with reporters there easily getting inside scoops and new information that journalists in other places would not easily get. Simpson, Jackson, Blake, the list goes on. Well, Jackson was Santa Barbara, but close enough. Point is, this trial can spell a major problem for President Biden.”

The next hearing for the case is currently set for March 27, with the trial to begin in June.