Attorneys for first son Hunter Biden fought Wednesday to dismiss a federal indictment out of Los Angeles charging that he evaded $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 — but still had to acknowledge their client did “clearly stupid things.”
High-powered Biden defense attorney Abbe Lowell filed eight motions last month alleging a “selective and vindictive” prosecution by special counsel David Weiss, arguing the proceedings were politically tainted and some of the charges were outside the six-year statute of limitations.
Lowell entered the courthouse around 12:40 p.m. PT but was not accompanied by Hunter, before heading in and sparring with federal prosecutors for several hours in front of US District Judge Mark Scarsi.
In the hearing, he claimed prosecutors had been influenced by “Republicans in Congress and whistleblowers from the IRS” — and directly attacked the “invalid appointment” of Weiss as special counsel.
Prosecutor Leo Wise slammed the defense for engaging in “revisionist history,” adding that Hunter’s defense team was focused on “attacking prosecutors” and “insulting” the special counsel’s office with its “fact-free” filings.
They argued that Hunter had “willfully engaged in multiple acts of tax evasion” for the years included in the indictment, including failing to pay his taxes entirely from 2017 to 2020 and making a partial payment in 2016.
Scarsi appeared to side with the prosecution on the question of outside political interference, saying there “doesn’t seem to be any evidence” — but said he would issue a final ruling on all the motions by April 17.
The Biden scion, 54, pleaded not guilty to the nine tax charges in January and is scheduled to head to trial on June 20 — more than two weeks after he is set to face another federal trial in Delaware for lying about his drug use on a federal gun-purchase form in 2018.
Hunter’s defense team has also sought to dismiss that indictment, also brought by special counsel Weiss, for which Biden faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.
The first son faces up to 17 years in prison for the tax charges, though federal judges rarely impose the maximum sentence.
The indictments came after the implosion of an earlier plea deal and allegations by two IRS whistleblowers that the Justice Department interfered in the five-year probe into Hunter’s finances by blocking them from taking certain investigative steps or pursuing inquiries that could lead to Joe Biden.
House Republicans are currently pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the president based in part on the disclosures provided by IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler — and deposed Hunter last month for further details about his foreign business entanglements during and after his father’s time as vice president.
Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Weiss, Delaware’s US attorney, to special counsel status the month after the plea deal’s collapse in August 2023, despite the role usually being filled by lawyers outside the Department of Justice.
At a Jan. 11 arraignment hearing, Lowell vowed to contest “the action[s] of the IRS” and made good on that promise earlier this month, accusing the whistleblowers of “outrageous misconduct” for disclosing details of their investigation to Congress and the media after it concluded.
Lowell in Wednesday’s hearing further complained about the “media tour” the IRS whistleblowers went on to discuss the case and mentioned a filing from prosecutors that mistakenly alleged a “picture of sawdust was our client’s cocaine.”
Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer who has repped “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, loaned Hunter at least $5 million to help pay off his tax liabilities shortly after meeting the president’s son at a Biden campaign fundraiser in late 2019.
Morris, known as Hunter’s “sugar brother” began paying Biden’s back taxes and other living expenses to help counter the “considerable risk personally and politically” to his new friend, according to a Feb. 7, 2020, email.
The lawyer later told House impeachment investigators he had been referring to impeachment proceedings against then-President Donald Trump that touched on Hunter’s work on the board for Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings, where he earned up to $1 million per year despite having no energy experience.
In the federal cases, the first son’s attorneys have also argued that Weiss’ team reneged on the June 20 plea agreement that granted the first son broad immunity from prosecution, saying that as of last year it had been “in effect” and “binding.”
But it was Hunter’s camp that walked away from the probation-only plea deal at a July 26 hearing in Delaware under persistent questioning from US District Judge Maryellen Noreika.
Prosecutors acknowledged the deal left open the threat of future charges — including for Hunter’s potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as his accounts netted more than $8 million from his business ventures in China, Ukraine and Russia.
Noreika and Delaware Chief US Probation Officer Margaret Bray also never signed the agreement — and Hunter’s then-defense lawyer Christopher Clark rejected it during the hearing in dramatic fashion, calling it “null and void.”
Clark withdrew from the case the following month.
Lowell in Wednesday’s hearing said Bray had “declined” to sign the deal, while Wise pointed out it was Hunter’s team that “flipped” its position and there had been “multiple inconsistencies” in the negotiation of the agreement.
“There was a good faith belief that Mr. Biden was going to plead guilty,” Wise also said of prosecutors’ understanding of the plea deal before it blew up.
Scarsi also appeared skeptical of the terms of the agreement, saying at one point of Hunter’s decision, “Why would he plead guilty if he had immunity?”
The next hearing for this case is set for Wednesday, May 29, at 1 p.m. in Los Angeles.
