Special counsel David Weiss has filed a second indictment against President Biden’s son Hunter, this time on tax charges, as the continued fallout from a collapsed plea deal this summer means the younger Biden could go on trial twice next year while his father runs for reelection.
The president’s son was charged by a grand jury in California with nine counts of failing to file and pay taxes, tax evasion and filing false tax returns; three of the charges are felonies, and another six are misdemeanors.
Prosecutors accuse Hunter Biden of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 through 2019. According to the 56-page indictment, Hunter Biden earned more than $7 million in gross income between 2016 and 2020 from foreign business deals, including payments for his service on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma and his work for a Chinese energy conglomerate. He also received another $1.2 million in 2020 and spent the money to fund an “extravagant lifestyle,” including drugs, escorts and girlfriends, exotic cars and clothing, the indictment alleges.
The $1.2 million came from a personal friend, according to prosecutors, who routed the money to third parties and then to Hunter Biden, who allegedly spent the funds rent for a “lavish house” in Venice, Calif., and car payments for a Porsche. The indictment charges that he also earned more than $140,000 in payments for his memoir, “Beautiful Things.”
Instead of paying his tax bills, however, prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden failed to file taxes on time for a number of years. When he finally filed his tax returns in 2018, the indictment alleges, they included false business deductions that reduced his tax liability. The charges were first reported by CNN.
