Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to nine tax charges during his arraignment in federal court in Los Angeles.
The First Son arrived at the federal First Street Courthouse in downtown LA on Thursday afternoon in a Secret Service convoy, accompanied by his attorney Abbe Lowell.
Hunter spoke to confirm his name and that he understood the charges against him, and to enter his not guilty plea to all nine tax charges.
The judge scheduled the next hearing for March 27 and the start of his trial for June 20.
The president’s son, 53, appeared in a navy suit, flanked by his Winston and Strawn lawyers Abbe Lowell and Angela Machala.
As Lowell frowned at the 40 or so reporters in the Los Angeles federal courtroom, Hunter seemed a little nervous as he waited for the judge to appear – at times brushing back his hair and wiping sweat from his upper lip.
Hunter Biden (pictured during his surprise appearance at Wednesday’s House Oversight Committee hearing) was indicted Thursday in LA on tax-related charges
At one point, he looked around the courtroom, surveyed prosecutors Leo Wise and Derek Hines, then straightened his collar and took a deep breath.
Several months earlier, Delaware prosecutors and Hunter’s legal team had agreed to a “sweet” settlement that would allow him to be released without jail time.
But the feeling was chilly in the Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, as Hunter and Lowell greeted and shook hands with court staff but didn’t even acknowledge Wise and Hines.
Special counsel David Weiss last month charged Hunter with three felonies and six felonies, accusing the president’s son of deliberately evading taxes, falsifying his returns and failing to pay $1.4 million on time – in instead spend the money on a ‘lavish lifestyle’.
The charges cover tax years 2016 through 2019 and could land him in prison for up to 17 years.
Judge Mark Scarsi, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, has been assigned the case alleging Hunter was involved in a four-year, $1.4 million tax evasion scheme.
The case comes after the implosion of a “sweetheart” plea deal involving taxes and weapons counts that would have spared him jail time.
Instead, Hunter Biden now also faces federal gun charges in Delaware, alleging he violated laws against drug users with guns in 2018.
Lowell has said prosecutors bowed to political pressure in bringing the case and that Hunter Biden was targeted because of his father’s political position.
The indictment, filed on December 7, alleges that despite receiving millions in personal income and financial support from a friend, Hunter “spent the money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items from a friend. personal nature, in short, everything except his taxes’.
“The defendant spent approximately $1 million in 2016, $1.4 million in 2017, $1.8 million in 2018 and $600,000 in 2019,” the complaint alleges.
According to the documents, Hunter earned more than $7 million in gross income between 2016 and 2020.
Prosecutors say he received approximately $1.2 million in 2020 alone “in financial support to fund his extravagant lifestyle” from his “sugar brother” Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris.
The documents claim that none of this financial assistance was used to pay “any of his federal individual income tax obligations for 2016-2019.”
Hunter’s lawyers say he has now paid all his back tax bills.
Hunter Biden, accompanied by his attorney Abbe Lowell, leaves a House Oversight Committee hearing as Republicans take the first step toward holding him in contempt of Congress, Wednesday on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 10, 2024
The charges were filed after two IRS whistleblowers who led a four-year investigation into Hunter came forward to Congress, claiming their investigation had been slow and stymied by Justice Department officials.
Senior Agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler shared impressive documents with the House Ways and Means Committee, which reveal many of the allegations in Weiss’s indictment.
The First Son’s prosecution in California will be led by Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Leo Wise, supported by fellow prosecutor Derek Hines.
The two were included in Weiss’ team at a late stage of the now five-year investigation.
Wise joined Weiss’ Delaware office after being demoted last March from head of the public corruption and fraud unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to just a line prosecutor in the same unit, the Baltimore Sun reported.
And DailyMail.com revealed in July that Hines has a potential conflict, having worked as “Special Counsel” for one of Hunter’s business partners, ex-FBI Director Louis Freeh, from 2013 to 2015.
Lesley Wolf, Weiss’s longtime deputy who led the investigation in his Delaware office, was nowhere to be found in the special counsel’s files against Hunter and has now left her government job.
Between 2016 and 2020, Hunter reportedly spent more than $683,000 on “diverse women” and nearly $400,000 on “clothing and accessories.”
Hunter’s charges in California include several unnamed associates, who DailyMail.com revealed last month had close ties to President Biden.
The associates in the indictment include President Joe Biden’s brother, a tax advisor, two of his top donors and a family friend whose wife worked for the First Lady.
Weiss is also prosecuting Hunter in Delaware for alleged gun crimes, alleging he bought a gun in Wilmington after admitting in his memoir to being an illegal drug user at the time.
The charge could land him in prison for up to 25 years and a $250,000 fine – although convicts rarely receive such a harsh sentence for these offenses alone.
The First Son is also facing a possible contempt of Congress prosecution after he rejected a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee to be questioned by lawmakers and their staff about his shady foreign affairs deals and Joe Biden’s possible involvement.
His lawyers instead offered to have him appear at a public hearing, which Republicans rejected.
On Wednesday, Hunter made a controversial appearance at a Public House Oversight hearing on his possible contempt charge, flanked by Lowell and Morris.
Prosecutors have also hinted at a possible prosecution for illegal lobbying abroad.
During a July 2023 hearing in Delaware on Hunter’s now-rejected plea deal, prosecutor Leo Wise told Judge Maryellen Noreika that they were considering further charges against Hunter for alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
These could stem from Hunter’s dealings with allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma and Chinese oil giant CEFC, which earned him millions of dollars.
