THE ANGELS – Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son pleaded not guilty to tax evasion this Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles. His legal complications increase the pressure against his father, who is seeking re-election and would face the former president. Donald Trump.
Biden’s son, 53, in recovery after a past of drug addiction, is being investigated by the House of Representatives for cases of corruption at the time when his father was vice president of Democrat Barack Obama’s administration, a case that could involve other members of the Biden family, according to Republican lawmakers.
The investigation seeks to impeach the president for alleged accusations that Joe Biden would have benefited from his son’s international negotiations with countries such as Ukraine and China, where he would have obtained million-dollar “consulting” contracts without having the credentials.
One day before his court appearance in Los Angeles, Hunter Biden He appeared unannounced on Capitol Hill in Washington, where two Republican Party-dominated committees were debating contempt measures against him for refusing to testify behind closed doors last month about his business dealings.
Biden was charged with nine counts related to tax crimes.
Embezzled money
The indictment, issued Dec. 7, claims that money that was supposed to go into government coffers was misappropriated in an “extravagant lifestyle.”
Between 2016 and October 2020, “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 except his taxes.” , states the 56-page document.
“We are here today because you have been charged with a criminal offense,” District Judge Mark C. Scarsi told Biden, who wore a suit and blue tie, and who appeared with his attorney.
“Not guilty,” he responded to a court packed with journalists when asked how he would plead to the charges.
The hearing lasted about half an hour.
Judge orders restrictions
Biden will respond freely to the process, but Judge Scarsi stressed that he cannot consume drugs or alcohol, or carry a firearm.
The next hearing will be on March 27, and the judge’s expectation is that the trial begins June 20.
Hunter Biden faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted of the nine crimes, three of which are considered serious.
He also faces another indictment in Delaware on federal charges that he violated laws that prevent drug users from owning weapons.
“Cruel”
Last year, an agreement that sought to negotiate his legal situation collapsed amid a storm of criticism that claimed that the reduction he had achieved in his sentence showed that the Department of Justice treated him with silken hands for being the president’s son.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in December that the opposite was true. The Secretary of the Department of Justice appointed by Biden has had different dealings with the Bidens compared to Trump, a complaint that the former president constantly repeats that the Biden administration uses justice as a tool to persecute him.
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was not Biden, his charges in Delaware, and these now in California, would not have been filed,” according to the president’s son’s lawyer.
The first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, questioned this Thursday the Republican attacks against her stepson.
“I think what they’re doing to Hunter is cruel. And I’m very proud of how Hunter has rebuilt his life after addiction,” Jill Biden told MSNBC’s morning show “Morning Joe.”
“I love my son. And this is hurting my grandchildren, and that’s what has me so worried. It’s affecting their lives too,” she said.
Source: With information from AFP
