Special Counsel investigating Hunter Biden has filed 9 federal tax
related charges against the President's son,
saying he engaged in a four year scheme to cheat
the government out of at least $1.4 million in federal
taxes.
Chief Just correspondent Pierre Thomas starts us off.
Good morning Pierre George, Good morning.
The Special Counsel has indicted the
President's son for the second time in three months,
in the process laying out in chapter and verse some
of the most troubling aspects of Hunter Biden's life.
Today, Hunter Biden wakes up facing a nine count federal
indictment,
6 misdemeanors and three felony charges.
Special Counsel David Weiss accusing the
president's son of failing to pay
$1.4 million in taxes from
2016 to 2019. All done,
according to Weiss, the time when Biden was living an
extravagant lifestyle.
Prosecutors claim Biden spent his money on drugs,
escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties,
exotic cars, clothing, in short,
everything but his taxes. Those expenses include more than
$600,000 in payments to various women,
another
$397,000 on clothing and accessories,
and more than
$180,000 on adult entertainment, including porn.
Hunter Biden admitted many of his shortcomings in his recent
memoir,
tying many of his poor decisions to a crack cocaine
addiction that had gone out of control.
I went one time for 13 days without sleeping
and smuggling crack and drinking vodka exclusively.
Throughout that entire time, according to the Special Counsel,
Hunter Biden earned millions of dollars from foreign entities in
Ukraine,
Romania, and China, noting that his expenditures increased as his
income increased,
leading him to spend quote wildly.
His business dealings and personal failings have become fodder for
Republicans seeking to harm his father,
the President politically. And House Republicans have launched impeachment proceedings
against President Biden,
focusing on Hunter, but thus far without any evidence of
wrongdoing by the President.
Hunter Biden is a private citizen,
and this was a personal matter for him,
As we have said, the President,
the first lady, they love their son and they support
him as he continues to rebuild his life.
The president steadfastly supportive. I'm very proud of my son.
The indictment is the latest consequence of Hunter Biden's plea
deal falling apart this past summer.
Under that deal, the Justice Department agreed not to prosecute
a gun charge,
and Hunter Biden would plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax
violations.
After the deal disintegrated, Weiss,
the US Attorney from Delaware,
appointed by President Trump, indicted Biden on the gun charge
in September.
And last night he made good on his threat to
pursue tax charges.
But this morning, Hunter Biden's attorneys are pushing back,
noting that he has paid back all of his taxes
and penalties and has battled back from his crack cocaine
addiction.
Last night, attorney Abby Lowell released this statement to ABC
News saying,
quote, 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.
George Pierre, Thanks. Let's start there with Chief Legal Analyst
Dan Abrams.
What do you make of Abby Lowell's argument?
Well, look, I think he had a very strong argument
in that regard on the gun charge,
right? On the lying over drug use on a federal
gun form based on this set of facts.
One gun, no other crime,
no criminal record, not used in a crime.
There hadn't been another case that was prosecuted like that.
On this one, it's a little closer.
When you're talking about tax fraud,
there are nuances, right? How much money here?
Talking about $1.4 million, a big number,
not a massive number. If you pay it back,
the charges aren't brought usually if you do.
But it does require the level of intent,
etcetera. So it's not sort of
out-of-the-box that he's been charged here.
And look, as a legal matter now,
it's tough. Meaning his best argument is the one Abby
Lowell made,
which is he should never have been charged.
Now that he has been charged,
he's in a tough spot.
I mean, these cases can be hard to defend.
They're going to be able to say we have the
documents,
we have the paperwork that proves he didn't pay his
taxes and that he had the money to pay his
taxes and just decided to use it on other stuff.
The earlier plea agreement fell apart,
which is why we're here today is a deal now
out of the question.
I think it's very unlikely that you could reach a
deal
now. And we're talking about a world of difference from
that deal,
right. We were talking about
A2 misdemeanor counts and no time.
Now we're talking about just,
in this case, 3 felonies,
6 misdemeanors. In the other case of felony.
You're talking about the possibility now decades behind bars.
I mean, these are very serious cases.
And I think that President Biden at some point is
going to have to think long and hard about the
possibility of a pardon.
Dan Abrams, thanks very much.