The second trial against Hunter Biden within a few months begins today in Los Angeles. The son of the US President must answer in court for alleged tax evasion.
Hunter Biden is said to have failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019. The allegations were published last December and were all over the news. According to the allegations, instead of paying taxes, Hunter Biden spent the money on an extravagant lifestyle: drugs, escort ladies, hotel rooms or cars.
After a deal between the defense and the prosecution fell through last summer, the son of US President Joe Biden was charged in two separate cases. One was for making false statements when purchasing weapons, the other for not paying taxes.
His gun trial has already been heard, he was found guilty, only the sentence is still pending. The tax trial is scheduled to begin today with jury selection. Opening arguments could then begin next Monday. If Hunter Biden is found guilty, that could theoretically land him in prison for up to 17 years.
Drug addiction may be a mitigating circumstance
Biden has now paid off his tax debts. During the period in question in the trial, he was also struggling with drug addiction, according to the defense. Californian lawyer Joseph Tully said in an assessment for the television channel CBS that this could possibly be a mitigating circumstance.
What speaks against him, however, is that he earned a lot of money at the time and, according to the allegations, made false statements in his tax return.
Biden’s defense argues that the prosecution’s primary goal is to question the 54-year-old’s character, as prosecutors want to focus on personal details and his business dealings abroad in the trial.
The political explosiveness of the process has decreased
Some US media are also speculating whether President Joe Biden could pardon his son if he is convicted. Before the guilty verdict in the gun trial, however, Biden had ruled this out – and also stressed that he was proud of his son and his fight against drug addiction.
Politically, the Hunter Biden trial is certainly no longer as explosive as it was when the charges were brought – his father may still be the incumbent president, but he is no longer the candidate for the November election. For Hunter Biden personally, however, a lot is at stake.
