Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Things are not looking too good for the President of the United State’s oldest living son.
On Thursday (Dec. 7), Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax charges in California after a special counsel investigation into the business dealings, according to the Associated Press. In all, Biden—who was already facing federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging that he broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018—is looking at three felonies and six misdemeanors under the new filing.
Special Council David Wiess said in a statement that Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.”
From AP:
The charges are centered on at least $1.4 million in taxes Hunter Biden owed during between 2016 and 2019, a period where he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. The back taxes have since been paid.
If convicted, Hunter Biden, 53, could receive a maximum of 17 years in prison. The special counsel probe remains open, Weiss said.
In response to the indictment, Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, accused Weiss of “bowing to Republican pressure” by prosecuting President Joe Biden’s son for alleged infractions he wouldn’t have prosecuted otherwise. “Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” Lowell said in a statement.
Lowell might be on to something, especially regarding the Delaware charges. Republicans are so anti-gun regulation that they fall all over themselves to defend guns after mass shootings, and under Donald Trump, an Obama-era regulation that would have made it harder for people with mental illness to buy guns was rolled back. Certainly, right-wing Second Amendment advocates would stand against a person being prosecuted for owning guns just because he has a history of drug use—unless we’re talking about the son of a Democratic commander-in-chief, of course.
As for the charges in California, where Hunter lives, Thursday’s filing details how the accused allegedly spent money on drugs, strippers, luxury hotels, exotic cars and, “in short, everything but his taxes.”
As AP noted, the “indictment comes as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, claiming he was engaged in an influence-peddling scheme with his son.” Of course, there has been zero evidence presented that indicates the president had anything to do with his son’s alleged activities, or that Joe Biden accepted any bribes or abused his role in office in any way, as his opponents have claimed. But Republicans aren’t likely to let facts get in the way of a good political prosecution, which is what they claim all the indictments of Trump are.
Anyway, Lowell indicated that he plans to fight the new charges against his client and that he will motion for dismissal of the Delaware charges next week, calling them “unprecedented and unconstitutional.”
