Hunter Biden’s tax trial is slated to begin this week in a California federal court.
Hunter Biden faces up to 17 years in prison for nine charges — three felonies and six misdemeanors — related to his alleged failure to pay over $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019. Rather than paying his taxes, prosecutors allege he spent his substantial income on an “extravagant lifestyle,” including “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature.”
Like his gun trial in June, where prosecutors secured a conviction on all three felony counts, this should be a “slam-dunk case” for prosecutors since the evidence of guilt is “overwhelming,” John Malcolm, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Constitutional Government, told the Daily Caller News Foundation
“As was also the case with the gun trial, I expect Hunter’s legal team to present a sympathy defense premised on his addiction struggles in an attempt at jury nullification or, at the very least, persuading one juror not to convict which would result in a mistrial,” he said.
Last week, District Court Judge Mark Scarsi issued an order detailing what evidence can be presented at trial. Hunter Biden will not be allowed to solicit testimony from his proposed expert witness, Dr. Joshua Lee, whom he intended to call to provide information about substance use, how addiction influences behavior and how personal trauma creates an “increased risk” of developing addiction.
“The deficiencies in Dr. Lee’s expert disclosure and supplemental disclosure leave the Government with insufficient information regarding what Dr. Lee’s opinions about the facts of this case are and the bases for those opinions,” the judge wrote.
The parties also will not be allowed to make arguments about the causes of Hunter Biden’s addiction, including by referencing the 1972 car crash that killed his mother and sister or the death of his brother Beau Biden in 2015.
“The fact that Mr. Biden was intoxicated or had an addiction during the timeframe charged in the Indictment is relevant to his defense,” the judge wrote. “But Mr. Biden has not advanced an argument as to why the underlying causes of the addiction are relevant.”
Scarsi also held that there should not be questioning related to the hearing in July 2023 when Hunter Biden’s initial plea deal — which would have had him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a probation agreement for one felony gun charge — fell apart. During that hearing, Judge Maryellen Noreika objected to a provision hidden in the diversion agreement that offered broad immunity.
Scarsi did not rule on Hunter Biden’s request to exclude allegations that he “acted on behalf of a foreign principal to influence U.S. policy and public opinion,” deferring his decision to the trial.
However, the judge did grant other requests to prohibit arguments referencing violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), suggesting improper coordination with the Obama administration, stating Hunter Biden received direct compensation “from any foreign state” or for actions “taken by his father that impacted national or international politics,” along with any other allegations of corruption or funneling money to Joe Biden.
Special counsel David Weiss’ team indicated in court filings that they intend to have Hunter Biden’s business associate testify about money the younger Biden received from a Romanian businessman who was attempting to “influence U.S. policy and public opinion.” Hunter Biden’s business associate entered into an arrangement “that concealed the true nature of the work” out of a concern the lobbying may have “political ramifications” for then-Vice President Joe Biden, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors argued the arrangement was “evidence that the defendant’s actions do not reflect someone with a diminished capacity, given that he agreed to attempt to influence U.S. public policy and receive millions of dollars.”
Malcolm said he doubts the judge will permit much of the evidence about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings because they are “only tangentially related to the issue of whether he properly reported the amounts of money that he was paid on his tax returns.”
“If the Special Counsel, David Weiss, had charged Hunter Biden with criminal violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known by its acronym FARA, as he should have, then such evidence would have been directly relevant to those charges, and a trial judge would have to admit it,” Malcolm noted. “But Weiss didn’t pursue any FARA charges and has not offered any explanation why not.”
Scarsi also reserved decision on Hunter Biden’s request to exclude details about his “extravagant” lifestyle, including his spending on pornography, strip clubs and a sex club membership. The judge wrote that he “generally agrees with the Government that evidence of the precise nature of Mr. Biden’s expenditures is necessary for the jury’s assessment of Mr. Biden’s state of mind” but wanted to review details on an “issue-by-issue basis at trial.”
Due to the case’s nature, Scarsi anticipated the trial taking “up to a month” and said the court would “summon 120 of Mr. Biden’s peers to submit to the jury selection process.”
In late August, Scarsi rejected Hunter Biden’s bid to toss the case based on the argument that Weiss was unlawfully appointed. Though his attorneys previously raised the issue, they raised it again after the judge overseeing Trump’s classified documents case found special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution.
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