In a series of pretrial rulings, the judge blocked some of Biden’s defense arguments, including that he eventually paid his overdue taxes
A six-year federal investigation into Hunter Biden will culminate this week as the president’s son faces trial for a second time.
He was convicted this summer on gun charges. Now he faces allegations of criminal tax evasion — and a judge has excluded one of his key lines of defense
During the trial in Los Angeles — where jury selection is scheduled to start on Thursday — prosecutors plan to tell a story about greed, decadence and entitlement. Biden’s lawyers, meanwhile, will argue it’s actually a tale of addiction and redemption.
The political stakes of the trial, expected to last about two weeks, have lessened now that Joe Biden is no longer running for reelection. But evidence in the case is expected to highlight his son’s foreign business dealings — an issue that became a centerpiece of Republican attacks on the Biden family.
The trial also will revisit the younger Biden’s past struggles with drug abuse. Prosecutors intend to argue that, while he was dodging his taxes, Biden was spending lavishly on drugs, strip clubs, sports cars and other trappings of a lifestyle filled with partying. Some of the details of his drug addiction emerged during the gun trial three months ago, and reliving them has been a source of pain to the president and the rest of the Biden family.
Mariam
Article URL : https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/04/hunter-biden-trial-what-to-know-00177454