(PatriotWise.com) — Hunter Biden’s legal team on Wednesday asked a federal judge in California to dismiss the tax case against him, arguing that it was a politically motivated prosecution, the Associated Press reported.
Hunter was indicted on nine felony and misdemeanor tax charges late last year. Prosecutors accuse the younger Biden of not paying $1.4 million in taxes over four years while he was living extravagantly.
In their motion to dismiss, Hunter’s attorneys claimed that the case was tainted by IRS agents who publicly leaked information about the case, claiming that it was being mishandled. They also noted that some of the allegations in the indictment are from before Hunter moved to California.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecution framed the defense’s claims as far-fetched, with prosecutor Leo Wise dismissing the notion that the case was tainted by IRS agents, whom he said he couldn’t pick out of a lineup.
Hunter’s lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, insisted that the case had been contaminated by partisan politics and argued that it was not an ordinary prosecution.
However, US District Judge Mark Scarsi told Lowell that the motion to dismiss appeared to cite “a lot of things on the internet” while lacking hard evidence to back up his claims.
Judge Scarsi is expected to rule on the motion to dismiss by mid-April.
The president’s son also faces federal charges in Delaware for lying on a federal gun purchase form in 2018 when he claimed that he didn’t use illegal drugs.
Hunter has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
The separate indictments stem from an investigation by US Attorney David Weiss in Delaware. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in August 2023 to oversee the investigations into the younger Biden.
Hunter’s attorneys are also trying to get the federal gun charges dismissed.
Currently, both the Delaware and California trials are expected to begin in June.
If Hunter is convicted in the California tax trial, he could receive a sentence of up to 17 years in prison.
Copyright 2024, PatriotWise.com
