Judge presiding over tax fraud lawsuit against California Hunter Biden called on the president to mischaracterize the accusations against his son and minimize them while explaining why. pardons him.
“The Constitution gives the president broad powers to grant reprieves and pardons for crimes against the United States, but nowhere does the Constitution give the president the power to rewrite history,” U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi wrote in a ruling late Tuesday.
Hunter Biden’s attorney asked the judge to dismiss the indictment against his client in light of President Joe Biden’s indictment. pardon Sday and nightbut did not submit an official copy of the pardon at first and instead sent a link presidential statement said that his son was “tried selectively and unfairly” and was the victim of a “miscarriage of justice”.
Scarsi said in a statement accompanying the president’s pardon that his “representations” were “in tension with the case record.”
“For example, the President’s claim that Mr. Biden is being “treated differently” from others who are “late on his taxes because of serious addictions,” implies that Mr. Biden is among those who do not pay taxes on time because of drug addiction. He does not.” the judge wrote.
He noted that Hunter Biden said he was “severely addicted to alcohol and drugs” “until May 2019”.
“on it pleads guilty to the charges in this case, Mr. Biden admitted that he engaged in tax evasion after this period of addiction by falsely passing off what he knew were personal expenses, including luxury clothing, escort services and business expenses such as his daughter’s law school education. And Mr. Biden admitted that he “has sufficient funds on hand to pay some or all of his unpaid taxes when they come due,” but that he “has not paid even after regaining sobriety” for his tax obligations.[d] In 2020, a large amount of money will be allocated to maintain the lifestyle,” the judge wrote.
Biden pleaded guilty to all charges brought against him in the California case the eve of the trial in September. Prosecutors said he “engaged in a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes owed for tax years 2016 through 2019.” He then “filed false returns in February 2020” and claimed false business deductions “to avoid calculating taxes to reduce his substantial tax liability,” which he still hasn’t paid despite driving a Porsche and living in a $17,500 car. -Monthly rental house on a canal in Venice Beach, prosecutors said.
The taxes were eventually paid after federal investigators told Biden about them looks at included its finances In December 2020.
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced three felonies and six misdemeanors tax accusations later this month, before his father grants him a “full and unconditional pardon” for crimes he committed or committed against the United States between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024. ”
The pardon also covers a gun case in Delaware. It was Biden convicted by jury was scheduled to be sentenced on those charges earlier this year and this month. After the cases were raised individually plea agreement a judge would throw both out without jail time when he questioned some of the details of the deal.
Hunter Biden claimed he was the victim of selective harassment in both cases, but those claims were dismissed by Scarsi and Judge Maryellen Noreika in the Delaware case. Both are Trump’s nominees.
“According to the President,[n]he is a logical person who looks at the facts [Mr. Biden’s] can come to any conclusion other than the circumstances [Mr. Biden] it was chosen just because it is [the President’s] son.” Scarci wrote. “But two federal judges have expressly rejected Mr. Biden’s arguments that the government should prosecute Mr. Biden because of his relationship with the president. And the president’s own Attorney General and Justice Department staff oversaw the investigation that led to the charges. In the President’s estimation, this legion of federal public servants, including the undersigned, are fools.”
David Weiss, the special counsel who brought the charges against Hunter Biden, made a similar point in a filing earlier this week, noting that three appeals court panels also rejected selective prosecutor claims.
“There was never any evidence of retaliation or selective prosecution in this case,” his office said in a filing. “In all, he has reviewed eleven (11) different Article III judges appointed by six (6) different presidents, including his father. rejected the defendant’s allegations, including allegations of selective and retaliatory harassment.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the judge’s remarks.
Despite his problems with the president’s statement, Scarsi walked out of the sentencing hearing and announced that he would formally close the case after receiving an affidavit confirming the pardon.
Noreika ordered the Delaware case dismissed Tuesday.