Disgraced son of President Joe Biden is back in a courtroom this week.
This time, he’s on trial for tax crimes that could land him behind bars for up to 17 years.
Hunter Biden is due in a federal court in California this week, where he faces nine charges — three felonies and six misdemeanors — related to his alleged failure to pay over $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, according to The Daily Caller.
According to the report, prosecutors allege the junior Biden 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.”
John Malcolm, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Constitutional Government, told the Daily Caller that this trial could be a “slam-dunk case” for prosecutors since the evidence of guilt is “overwhelming.”
“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.
And in another blow to Biden, last week District Court Judge Mark Scarsi issued an order detailing what evidence can be presented at trial. And according to the report, 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.
A California federal judge barred Hunter Biden's expected addiction expert from testifying in his upcoming trial on tax charges, saying the expert's opinions hadn't been clearly linked to the specifics of Biden's own struggle. https://t.co/XfjH4i4Bl3
— Law360 (@Law360) August 29, 2024
“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.”
According to the Daily Caller report, 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.”
This is an on-going story. Check back for more updates.