The son of US President Joe Biden, Hunter, pleaded not guilty to tax fraud in Los Angeles on Thursday, in an embarrassing case for the tenant of the White House, who is preparing to face Donald Trump again.
Hunter Biden, 53, a businessman now converted to painting, who says he has overcome his addictions to drugs and alcohol, is one of the favorite targets of his father’s Republican opponents, who consider him to be the Achilles heel of the Democratic president.
Indicted in December for evading through a “scheme” the obligation to pay $1.4 million in taxes due for the tax period from 2016 to 2019, according to the prosecution, he pleaded not guilty Thursday to all nine counts during a brief hearing.
Asked by Judge Mark Scarsi about his line of defense, Hunter Biden, who wore a navy blue suit and tie, simply replied: “not guilty.”
He remains at liberty, under judicial supervision: he is notably prohibited from possessing a weapon, drinking alcohol or consuming drugs.
His next appearance has been set for March 27, and the judge is aiming for the trial to begin on June 20.
He faces up to 17 years in prison in this case where he is suspected of having “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle instead of paying his taxes”, according to the indictment, which mentions his drug use, as well as payments for the company of escorts, luxury cars and clothing.
” Cruel “
This appearance in Los Angeles took place the day after a parliamentary hearing which turned into a free-for-all in Washington, when Hunter Biden unexpectedly attended to protest against the attitude of the Republicans, who launched in September an impeachment inquiry against the president.
The latter accuse Joe Biden, without having so far provided proof, of corruption and of having benefited from his son’s controversial affairs in Ukraine and China, when he was Barack Obama’s vice-president (2009-2017). ).
“Let me say this as clearly as possible, my father was never financially involved in my affairs,” Hunter Biden assured Congress on December 13, in a serious tone.
On Wednesday, two congressional committees dominated by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives recommended that he be found guilty of obstructing the investigative prerogatives of Congress for refusing to participate in a closed hearing on his financial interests in the ‘stranger. He demands a public hearing.
During one of the hearings, one of the Republican elected officials called Hunter Biden a “coward”, showing scabrous photos of him, while another called him “the embodiment of white privilege”.
“What they are doing to Hunter is cruel,” Jill Biden, the wife of the American president, reacted Thursday during an interview with MSNBC.
“Interference”
In addition to the legal proceedings for tax fraud, Hunter Biden is also charged in another case in Delaware, for illegal possession of a firearm. He could therefore potentially be tried twice in 2024, while his father is campaigning for re-election.
He reached a guilty plea agreement in June covering both tax evasion and illegal firearm acquisition charges, which likely would have allowed him to avoid prison and an embarrassing trial for him and his father.
But this agreement was canceled following doubts expressed in July by a judge about its validity.
Thursday in Los Angeles, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, estimated that this agreement was still valid. Before the judge, he also argued that the American Congress had exercised “interference” with the prosecution. A point that he intends to raise to try to have the prosecutions canceled.
The council had already hinted at this strategy in December.
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the prosecution in Delaware, and now in California, would not have been brought,” he said.
