Judge Mark Scarsi said he does n’t see factual evidence to back defense’s claims that charges are politically motivated.
As they sought to have several tax-related charges dropped, a federal judge questioned the lack of information presented by the counsel for President Joe Biden’s child Hunter during a hearing in Los Angeles on March 27.
Judge Mark Scarsi ( CQ ) spent several hours hearing Mr. Biden’s attorneys ‘ arguments regarding their eight motions to dismiss the case. Many of the allegations, including the claim that the allegations were politically motivated, were not supported by scientific proof, he claimed.
” There does n’t seem to be any evidence that anything in Congress or the whistleblowers influenced the prosecution”, Judge Scarsi told Mr. Biden’s lead attorney, Abbe Lowell ( CQ), during a discussion about his claim that Mr. Biden was selectively prosecuted.
Mr. Lowell admitted he did n’t have evidence but claimed “rank partisans” were pushing for the charges.
” I do n’t have transparency, but I have’ connect the dots ‘ evidence”, Mr. Lowell said.
A decision on the motions is expected by April 17 on the plaintiff’s claims, which include claims that Los Angeles is an inappropriate venue, the exclusive counsel was hardly funded effectively, and outrageous government conduct.
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If found guilty of all charges related to avoiding paying$ 1.4 million in fees over a three-year time while battling an illegal drug dependency, Mr. Biden could receive up to 17 years in prison.
During claims Wednesday, his lawyer called the event the “least regular trial a person can imagine”, saying Republicans, the press, and Russian propaganda were the driving force behind the charges.
” There’s nothing normal about how this case was initiated and investigated”, Mr. Lowell said.
He added that because the two sides agreed to sign a plea deal in Mr. Biden’s Delaware circumstance, which involved both firearm-related claims and tax-related charges, the case should be dropped. The plea agreement was rejected by the government, and it was not yet finalized. The trial in that case has now been moved forward by the government.
According to the defense, Mr. Biden was spared from criminal prosecution because of allegations involving taxes, guns, and drugs. The plea deal was never signed, according to government prosecutors who disagreed with this claim.
Additionally, Mr. Biden’s team claimed that Republicans, IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who are both Republicans, were responsible for the three felony counts and six misdemeanor counts brought against him in Los Angeles after the Delaware plea deal was broken, and that they did not have any evidence to support the allegations of outrageous government behavior.
Special Counsel David Weiss ( CQ), who watched Wednesday’s court session from the gallery, conducted the investigation into the Los Angeles case over the course of several years.
Leo Wise, the judge’s lead criminal prosecutor, said the motions lacked facts.
” In all the motions, they say we have bad motives. They saw we were sloppy, we sat on our hands until the partisan interference”, Mr. Wise told the judge. ” This is not true. We did n’t need to gin up an indictment”.
Mr. Weiss started investigating Mr. Biden, 54, in 2019. He was hired by then-President Donald Trump as a U.S. attorney and worked on the case while working with President Biden. In 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr. Weiss as a special counsel.
In December, a grand jury indicted Mr. Biden and charged him with three felony and six misdemeanor tax crimes related to his international business dealings. Mr. Biden has since paid his back taxes plus penalties, according to his attorneys.
Mr. Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges on Jan. 11 and was released on his own recognizance, promising to register for pre- trial probation, seek employment, refrain from alcohol and drug use, and not possess a firearm.
” First of all, my son’s done nothing wrong”, the president said in June last year. ” I trust him. I have faith in him. And it makes me proud of him, which has an impact on my presidency.
A few months before Americans cast ballots in the presidential election, which will feature President Biden, who is embroiled in an impeachment investigation, and former president Donald Trump, who is currently facing four criminal trials, in a close fight.
If the case is decided not to be dismissed, a jury trial will start on June 20 in Los Angeles.
In Delaware, Mr. Biden could be facing a trial on charges of buying a gun while using illegal drugs on June 3. On a federal form used to purchase a gun that he claimed he later threw in a dumpster, he pleaded not guilty to lying about using it in October 2018.
Additionally, he is asking the judge to drop the charges in that case. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika ( CQ ) is reportedly still considering his motions.
