President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, is facing federal tax charges and is set to stand trial in September in Los Angeles. As the trial approaches, prosecutors and the defense are in a legal battle over what evidence can be presented to the jury.
Hunter Biden is accused of a scheme to evade paying over $1.4 million in taxes. This is the second criminal trial for the president's son, who was recently convicted on three felony charges related to a gun purchase in 2018.
Prosecutors aim to introduce evidence of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, including his connections with a Chinese energy conglomerate and his role on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma. They allege that Hunter Biden received millions of dollars for minimal work.
Special counsel David Weiss plans to inform jurors about Hunter Biden's work for a Romanian businessman who sought to influence U.S. government policy during Joe Biden's vice presidency. Prosecutors claim that Hunter Biden and his business associate concealed the true nature of their lobbying work for the businessman.
The defense argues that evidence of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings is irrelevant to the tax charges and could confuse jurors. They contend that Hunter Biden's struggles with addiction during the relevant period impacted his decision-making and judgment.
Prosecutors allege that while evading taxes, Hunter Biden lived an extravagant lifestyle, spending money on drugs, escorts, exotic cars, and luxury hotels. The defense is pushing to exclude these allegations from the trial, citing potential prejudice against Hunter Biden.
Despite initially planning to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses last year, a plea deal fell through, leading to Hunter Biden's indictment in both the tax and gun cases.
