Hunter Biden's Motion to Dismiss Tax Evasion Case Rejected

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Facts

  • Pres. Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden's latest attempt to have tax charges against him dismissed was rejected by Los Angeles-based US District Judge Mark Scarsi on Monday. This progresses the case forward toward a California trial in September.[1]
  • Hunter — accused of avoiding paying at least $1.4M in taxes over four years — had sought to have the case thrown out, with lawyers likening the situation to former Pres. Donald Trump's classified documents case being thrown out by US District Judge Aileen Cannon.[1]
  • In the Trump case, Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional. However, Scarsi dismissed Biden's lawyers' argument that special counsel David Weiss was also illegally appointed, stating he had already rejected his previous challenge.[2]
  • Additionally, Scarsi ruled that he wouldn't sanction Biden's lawyers for misstatements in their motion to dismiss Biden's charges but noted that their 'conduct warrants an admonition: candor is paramount.'[3]
  • Biden, who in June was convicted of three felony gun charges in a separate case in Delaware, had previously claimed his prosecution was politically motivated, though the motion was rejected.[4]

Sources: [1]Associated Press, [2]Reuters.com, [3]ABC News and [4]The Hill.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast. While Republicans remain obsessed with their favorite punching bag — the president's son — it's no surprise a Trump-appointed judge refused to apply the same legal theory to Biden's case as the Florida judge did in Trump's. Whether it's this case or the House GOP's so-called dossier accusing the Biden family of a criminal conspiracy, there's seemingly no end to the attacks the Republicans will fire at the First Family for political points.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. These are challenging times for the Biden family. Hunter Biden had his motion rejected in advance of joining his father at the Democratic National Convention, where the elder Biden had to pass the baton to a new nominee after being forced out. If the younger Biden hadn't been such a screw-up, he wouldn't have gun convictions on his record and wouldn't be facing a tax evasion trial next month.

Predictions