The fresh set of charges brought against Hunter Biden this week could prove burdensome for his father’s reelection campaign, as experts predict that the case will likely not head to trial until after voters decide on President Joe Biden’s bid for a second term in November 2024.
Hunter Biden’s new indictment, filed in California court, includes three felony and six misdemeanor charges related to allegations that the president’s son evaded at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019. They were leveled a few months after a plea deal between Hunter Biden and prosecutors fell apart in July, and as House Republicans continue their investigation into the Biden family’s foreign business dealings.
The new charges also pile onto the federal firearm-related charges Hunter Biden is facing in Delaware, in which prosecutors accuse him of breaking the law forbidding drug users from possessing guns in 2018. July’s plea deal would have scrapped the felony charges, a move that Republicans had called a “sweetheart deal.”
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When Could Hunter Biden Head to Court?
Legal experts agree that it’s unlikely that the new tax-related charges will head to trial before the 2024 election. Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek that Hunter Biden’s firearm indictment in Delaware will take priority for now, adding that litigation for that case is still in the pre-trial stages.
“Second, it’s highly unlikely he will go to trial at all,” Rahmani added. “There is no real defense on the merits, aside from challenging the ‘willfulness’ element of some of the tax charges because Hunter was a drug addict at the time. But it’s pretty clear that Hunter didn’t file or pay taxes for multiple years.”
Michael McAuliffe, former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney in Florida, said that Hunter Biden’s defense team could also postpone the case during the trial’s early discovery stages, adding that the prosecution will likely be “document intensive.”
“The prosecutors brought the charges through a speaking indictment which lays out in great detail alleged facts that go well beyond the necessary bare minimum requirements in federal charging documents,” McAuliffe told Newsweek.
“That decision was purposeful and aggressive,” he added. “I expect the defense team to respond in kind with a flurry of motions challenging the indictment, seeking extensive discovery, and possibly attacking the actions of the agents and prosecutors during the multi-year investigation. That will result in an intense period of litigation and tactical maneuvering.”
According to a report from the Associated Press (AP), Hunter Biden’s defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has already indicated that his team intends to fight against the new charges, and is planning to file for dismissal of the gun charges against the president’s son next week. Lowell also tore into Special Counsel David Weiss in a statement shared with AP Thursday, accusing the lead prosecutor on the case of “bowing to Republican pressure.”
House GOP members, largely led by Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, have homed in on Hunter Biden for months as part of their investigation into allegations that President Biden was involved in a bribery scheme with foreign entities to boost his family’s businesses. The committee has yet to bring forward evidence that connects the president to any of the charges against his son, however.
“It’s critical to remember that, despite commentators alleging otherwise, the charges brought by the special counsel don’t involve President Biden,” McAuliffe told Newsweek. “The charges allege misconduct by his son, not the president.”
Where President Biden Comes into Play
Whether related to the charges or not, Hunter Biden’s charges do pose additional questions for the president and his campaign team. Some experts speculate that President Biden could attempt to pardon his son of all charges—the timing of such a move, however, could be critical to his reelection efforts.
“If you’re Joe Biden and his political team, you don’t want to grant Hunter Biden a pardon before the election, because that would lower Joe Biden’s numbers even further,” former Ohio Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Weaver said during a phone call with Newsweek.
“Nobody begrudges Joe Biden loving his son,” Weaver added. “And if he loves him that much … he’s going to issue a pardon. The only question is when.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in September that the president would not pardon his son from federal charges if he gets convicted.
Thursday’s indictment could also impact the way that Biden and his supporters will speak about Hunter’s charges while on the 2024 campaign trial. Democrats have previously sought to distance the president from his son’s criminal investigations, claiming that the allegations against Hunter are fueled by Republican influence.
“The Democrat talking point that allegations about Hunter Biden are ‘Republican fever dreams’ has been removed,” Weaver told Newsweek on Friday.
“Republicans will now point to the very credible case that Hunter Biden is a criminal, and Democrats will be unable to claim that this is a Republican made-up point,” he added.
The White House declined comment to Newsweek on Friday. Newsweek has also reached out to Hunter Biden’s legal team.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.