(Daily360.com) A California judge decided that Hunter Biden will stand trial on tax evasion charges when he ruled against Biden’s motions to dismiss. Biden’s legal team tried hard to have the charges dropped by putting forward eight separate motions to dismiss. Each motion was written to cite different theories and reasoning to have the charges dropped. One of the eight attempted to use as a reason the “sweetheart plea deal” Hunter had reached with federal prosecutors before the then-presiding judge rejected it.
Hunter Biden will stand trial for three felony charges and six additional misdemeanor charges relating to earnings recorded between 2016 and 2019. Prosecutors claim Biden failed to pay taxes and filed false returns during that time. Biden’s lawyers tried to assert that the case should be thrown out because two of the IRS agents assigned to his case became whistleblowers to Congress and by doing so tainted the case. The agents in question said they became whistleblowers because they felt the IRS higher-ups were shielding Biden from prosecution and using their influence to affect the process on his behalf.
The presiding magistrate, US District Judge Mark Scarsi, told the Biden team that he did not agree that the case was brought for political reasons and as a result Biden must stand trial. The judge wrote disparagingly about the motions to dismiss, saying Biden’s team failed to show even “one declaration, exhibit or request” that would substantiate their position. He wrote the only “evidence” they offered were from Internet posts, blogs, and social media posts. Scarsi wrote that the Internet posts were mostly repeating hearsay claims and had no verifiable information. He informed the Biden team that not only did they not provide “clear evidence” but there was no “reasonable inference” that could be drawn from their motions.
If convicted on all charges Hunter Biden could face a 17-year maximum sentence. When combined with the remaining federal gun charges that Biden may also be brought to trial for in the future, he could be sentenced to as many as 42 years in prison. Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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