Jury selection for Hunter Biden's tax evasion trial to begin in Los Angeles
Jury selection is expected to begin Thursday in the tax trial of Hunter Biden, who is charged with failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes while living an "extravagant lifestyle."
In December, a federal grand jury charged the president's son with three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor offenses, including failure to file and pay his taxes, tax evasion and filing a false return.
A 56-page indictment chronicled more than $7 million in income he made from his foreign business dealings from 2016 through 2019, and how the president's son spent nearly $5 million during that time period on "everything but his taxes." Those expenses, according to the indictment, included drugs, escorts, lavish hotels, rental homes, luxury cars and clothing. Biden then allegedly falsely characterized those expenses as business expenses.
"In each year in which he failed to pay his taxes, the defendant had sufficient funds available to him to pay some or all of his outstanding taxes when they were due. But he chose not to pay them," the indictment said.
Prosecutors have tried to blunt a potential defense that Biden's struggle with substance abuse was to blame for his failure to file taxes on time from 2016 to 2019. The indictment said Biden was repeatedly reminded by his accountants, personal assistants and others about his income tax responsibilities.
Biden pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in January.
His trial was initially slated for June, but it was pushed back while he faced separate charges in Delaware. Biden was convicted on three felony charges in June related to his purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, according to prosecutors, he was battling an addiction to illegal drugs and lied about it on paperwork to obtain the gun.
The accusations in both cases stem from an investigation led by special counsel David Weiss that almost ended in a plea deal in which he would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges. He also would have avoided prosecution on a gun charge if he remained drug-free and stayed out of trouble. But the deal collapsed in July 2023 when a federal judge expressed concerns about it.
In recent weeks, Biden's attorneys and prosecutors have sparred over what evidence can be used during his trial on tax charges.
Biden's legal team has sought to exclude at trial any references to his "extravagant lifestyle" and "any salacious details" about his spending on sex workers, adult entertainment, a sex club membership, pornography and strip clubs. In a July motion that argued against allowing such references, his lawyer Mark Geragos said the evidence is "irrelevant" to prove that Biden allegedly committed the crimes.
At an Aug. 21 hearing, Geragos accused prosecutors of trying to turn the case into a "character assassination."
"We have an office of special counsel who on one coast wants to prove that Hunter was an addict during this time period, and then comes over to this coast that wants to run away from that and wants to recast it as an extravagant lifestyle," Geragos said.
In an August motion, prosecutors argued that "evidence about the choices he made in his personal spending is highly probative of his state of mind" during the time period of the alleged crimes.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, who is overseeing the case, has not issued a ruling on the matter but asked the parties to preview any such evidence on an issue-by-issue basis during the trial.
"The court 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 at least as to Counts 6 through 8," the judge wrote in an Aug. 27 order, referring to one felony count of tax evasion and two felony counts of filing a false return.
The judge also barred the defense from arguing that a 1972 car accident that killed Biden's sister and mother and his brother's 2015 death from brain cancer caused his addiction.
At least one of Biden's past romantic partners is expected to testify. His brother's widow, Hallie Biden, who gave emotional testimony in the gun case, and her sister, Elizabeth Secundy, were subpoenaed by the government for their testimony and granted immunity.
If convicted on the tax charges, Biden faces a maximum of 17 years in prison.
It's unclear whether President Biden or first lady Jill Biden will attend any part of the trial. The first lady attended several days of the Delaware trial.
"The president and first lady, they love their son. They're proud of his resilience and his strength," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday at the White House press briefing. "They support him as he continues to move forward in his life."
