Hunter Biden's legal team contended on Wednesday that the federal tax charges against the president's son in California should be thrown out, arguing that the prosecution was driven by political motives.
Lead attorney Abbe Lowell claimed that the case was highly unusual, citing irregularities in its initiation and investigation.
However, federal prosecutors have refuted these claims. In recent legal filings, special counsel David Weiss' office stated that politics played no role in the case and dismissed allegations that the charges were brought to appease Republicans, labeling the assertion as "conspiratorial" and "a baseless fabrication."
During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi expressed skepticism about the argument, highlighting a lack of evidence supporting the claim that politics influenced the charges.
Biden did not appear for the hearing Wednesday, but he pleaded not guilty to nine federal tax charges in the Central District of California in January, after federal prosecutors alleged he engaged in "a four-year scheme" to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes and charged him with failure to file and pay taxes, tax evasion and filing a false tax return.
Biden's attorneys also argued that the tax charges violated a diversion agreement between federal prosecutors and the president's son last year.
A plea agreement on two misdemeanor tax charges and a diversion agreement stemming from a firearms charge unraveled in court in July 2023, when the judge questioned whether the agreement would allow Biden to avoid potential future charges. Biden's attorneys maintained the agreement was still legally binding. Federal prosecutors said the "proposed agreement" had not been approved the U.S. Office of Probation and Pretrial Services and had not yet gone into effect.
Judge Scarsi will issue a decision on April 17.
The motion to dismiss hearing comes as Republican-led congressional committees are winding down an impeachment inquiry into President Biden that centered in part on whether the president profited from Hunter Biden's business ventures and whether senior officials in the Biden administration took steps to impede criminal probes into the president's son.
In a closed-door deposition before lawmakers in February, Hunter Biden dismissed the inquiry as a "baseless and destructive political charade," contending his father had no involvement in his business dealings.
Congressman Comer to Prepare Criminal Referrals Following Investigation
Representative James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky and the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, has indicated that he plans to make criminal referrals once the investigation is complete. Critics of the probe argue that the Republican-controlled congressional committees have not yet presented any evidence of misconduct by Mr. Biden.
