Hunter Biden set to face tax-fraud charges in California courtroom

LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 — US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden is due in a Los Angeles federal court today, where he is expected to plead not guilty to tax charges stemming from business dealings that have also prompted an impeachment probe of his father.

Hunter Biden, 53, stands criminally accused of failing to pay US$1.4 million (RM6.5 million) in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items.

He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted. Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell has said he has paid his back taxes and is being persecuted because of his famous last name.

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He is due to appear in court at 1pm Pacific time (2100 GMT/5am Malaysian time tomorrow).

The president’s son, who has publicly discussed his substance abuse, has never held a position in the White House or on his father’s campaign. He also has pleaded not guilty in a separate federal case in Delaware in which he is charged with lying about his illegal drug use when he bought a gun. Those charges carry up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Both cases were brought by federal prosecutor David Weiss, who has been investigating him since 2019 and was last year elevated to the status of special prosecutor. A federal judge rejected a proposed plea deal last summer. The Justice Department has said the investigation into Hunter Biden is ongoing.

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US House of Representatives Republicans are pushing to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify behind closed doors in their impeachment inquiry of his father. That has the potential to trigger more criminal charges.

Hunter Biden has offered to testify in public in the probe, but lawmakers rebuffed him. He caused a ruckus on Capitol Hill on Wednesday when he unexpectedly showed up at a House hearing where lawmakers were considering the contempt charges.

Republican investigators have focused on Hunter Biden’s work for businesses in Ukraine and China while his father served as US vice president from 2009 to 2017. So far they have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the elder Biden, even as they have highlighted his son’s struggles with substance abuse.

In the tax case, prosecutors have said he earned more than US$7 million between 2016 and 2019, including US$2.3 million from his position on the board of directors of Burisma, a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate. He also served on the board of CEFC China Energy Co Ltd, a Chinese energy conglomerate.

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday found that 44 per cent of US adults think the prosecution of Hunter Biden is politically motivated, while 33 per cent do not. At the same time, 56 per cent think he is receiving favourable treatment from prosecutors. — Reuters