Hunter Biden cannot claim in court that the 1972 car crash that killed his mother and sister led to his drug addiction, a judge has ruled.
Biden is also forbidden from claiming the cancer death of his brother, Beau, contributed to his addiction.
President Joe Biden’s son is to go on trial in California on charges that he failed to pay millions of dollars in taxes on consultancy fees he earned from foreign business interests.
The Department of Justice announced the indictment on December 8, 2023, saying that, instead of paying his taxes, Biden spent huge sums “on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature” including over $70,000 on drug rehabilitation.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden on July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden is expected go on trial in California on tax charges.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden on July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden is expected go on trial in California on tax charges.
Mark Makela/Getty Images
The indictment says Hunter Biden “earned handsomely” while serving on the boards of Burisma, a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate, and a Chinese private equity fund.
The indictment states that between 2016 and October 2020, he received more than $7 million in total gross income.
Biden agrees that he did spend money on drugs but says he had an addiction that he could not stop and was not in the right frame of mind.
Federal judge, Mark Scarsi, ruled on Tuesday that, while Biden may use his drug addiction as a defense, he cannot introduce evidence about the causes of his addiction.
“The fact that Mr. Biden was intoxicated or had an addiction during the timeframe charged in the Indictment is relevant to his defense,” Scarsi ruled.
“But Mr. Biden has not advanced an argument as to why the underlying causes of the addiction are relevant.”
Biden “does not identify any reason why the underlying causes of Mr. Biden’s addiction have ‘any tendency to make a fact more or less probable’ or are ‘of consequence in determining the action,'” as is required by federal rules, Scarsi ruled.
“As such, evidence of the causes of Mr. Biden’s addiction is irrelevant, and neither party may elicit such evidence or refer to any alleged causes of Mr. Biden’s addiction in the opening statements,” he wrote.
He will now oversee Hunter Biden’s tax trial, which will begin in Los Angeles in September.
Prosecutors claim the president’s son, 54, failed to pay $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019. He faces three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Jury selection will begin September 5 with a trial start date set for September 9.
Special Counsel David Weiss’ team previously told Scarsi that a witness would testify about Biden’s alleged arrangement with a Romanian businessman who was trying to “influence U.S. government policy” during Joe Biden’s term as vice president.
The Attorney General appointed a special counsel from outside the Department of Justice to avoid allegations that the government was persecuting or showing favoritism toward the president’s son.
Newsweek sought email comment from Hunter Biden’s attorney on Thursday.
Biden had hoped to introduce evidence about the 1972 car crash that killed his mother Neilia and his 1-year-old sister Naomi.
He also wanted to introduce evidence about the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden from brain cancer.
“As two specifically alleged causes for Mr. Biden’s professed addiction arose during the argument, the Court briefly addresses them. Counsel for Mr. Biden apparently intends to argue that a tragic car accident in 1972 was the cause for Mr. Biden’s addiction from 2015 through 2019,” the judge said.
“For the reasons expressed elsewhere in this Order, the Court excludes this argument and any reference to the 1972 accident.”
“Counsel for Mr. Biden also intends to argue that the death of Mr. Biden’s brother caused Mr. Biden’s addiction. Again, the Court precludes this argument,” Scarsi wrote.
Source link : https://www.newsweek.com/hunter-biden-not-allowed-claim-car-accident-led-drug-addiction-california-tax-case-1946168
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Publish date : 2024-08-29 08:53:00
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