(WatchDogReport.org) – A Los Angeles federal judge has rejected Hunter Biden’s request to have tax charges against him dismissed. President Joe Biden’s son is accused of avoiding the payment of $1.4 million in taxes in a four-year scheme while prioritizing his lavish lifestyle. U.S. District Judge Marc Scarsi dismissed in eight separate motions the claims that federal prosecutors bowed to pressure from the Republicans and that a previous plea deal negotiated by Hunter granted him immunity.
The president’s son already asked a Delaware federal judge in December 2023 to throw out gun charges he faces in that state. In September, Republican special counsel David Weiss was called on by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Hunter over a count of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user and two counts of providing false statements on a federal firearms form. He reportedly lied on the forms that he was not taking drugs despite his admission that he was using crack cocaine at the time.
Scarsi dismissed claims that Weiss, who assumed office under former President Donald Trump, was improperly appointed. Other claims by Hunter’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, that the judge dismissed suggested the charges faced by Hunter were politically motivated and vindictive on the part of the Republicans. The verdict is a heavy blow to the Biden family approaching the 2024 presidential election that sees a potential deal to spare the president’s son a criminal trial unravel after being challenged by a Delaware judge.
Defense attorneys claimed that a prosecutor signed the deal that included immunity provisions that were still in effect, but Scarsi agreed with the prosecution’s claims that it never received the required approval of a probation officer. The original plea deal proposed by Hunter had been slated as a “sweetheart deal” by Trump and the Republicans. The incumbent president’s son could receive up to 17 years in prison if convicted of the tax charges against him. The trial is set to commence on June 20 with jury selection. This is the first time a sitting president’s child has faced criminal charges.
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