Hunter Biden trial starts in Los Angeles on tax charges : NPR

President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, goes on trial for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes — even as he spent millions of dollars on what prosecutors say was an “extravagant lifestyle.”

The trial, which opens Thursday with jury selection in federal court in downtown Los Angeles, comes three months after Hunter Biden was convicted of felony gun charges in Delaware. Both cases were brought by Justice Department special counsel David Weiss.

Hunter Biden’s two federal criminal prosecutions have put a spotlight on the sordid details of his life when he was addicted to crack cocaine. They were also once viewed as a possible political liability for President Biden in the middle of a tight 2024 reelection campaign.

Now, with the elder Biden no longer seeking reelection, the potential political impact of his son’s legal troubles has faded. But the trial could dredge up even more of the painful and embarrassing details of one of the darkest periods of Hunter Biden’s life. He also remains in legal peril, although he could still get a pardon from his father.

President Biden has previously said that he will not pardon his son, but that was before he withdrew from the presidential race. It’s unclear whether his earlier statement still stands now that he’s no longer running for office.

Hunter Biden faces nine counts in the Los Angeles case: three felony counts for tax evasion and filing false returns, plus six misdemeanor counts. He has pleaded not guilty.

“An extravagant lifestyle”

Prosecutors say Hunter Biden failed to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019 despite having made more than $7 million in total gross income between 2016 and 2020.

Instead, prosecutors say, Biden spent millions “on an extravagant lifestyle.”

“The defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” according to the indictment.

The period of the alleged offenses corresponds to the time when Hunter Biden was struggling with an addiction to crack cocaine following the death of his brother, Beau Biden.

He also allegedly claimed personal expenses as business expenses to reduce his tax burden.

The indictment includes a long list of alleged falsely claimed business expenses, including $11,500 for an escort to spend two nights with Hunter Biden; tens of thousands of dollars for luxury hotels during his crack addiction; nearly $20,000 in rent payments for the New York residence of one of his daughters; and some $27,000 to an online pornography website.

Biden’s struggles were a central part of his first federal trial this summer, in Delaware. He was found guilty of lying about his addiction to crack cocaine on a background check form when buying a gun in 2018.

His sentencing in that case is scheduled for Nov. 13.

Almost avoided trial

A year ago, Hunter Biden appeared on the verge of avoiding trial entirely.

He had a tentative deal with prosecutors under which he would plead guilty to tax charges and enter in a diversion agreement on the gun offenses — which would pause criminal proceedings as long as he met certain conditions. The deal would have allowed him to avoid trial.

But the deal collapsed in front of a federal judge in Delaware who voiced concern about how the agreement was structured. Biden’s lawyers and prosecutors were unable to cobble it back together.

Weeks later, Weiss was appointed special counsel, and his team then brought the two prosecutions against the president’s son.