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Hunter Biden asks judge to dismiss tax charges, saying they’re politically motivated
Hunter Biden’s attorneys argued Wednesday that the federal tax charges the president’s son is facing in California should be dismissed because they were part of a prosecution fueled by politics.
Abbe Lowell, lead counsel for Biden, argued the case was the “least ordinary prosecution a person could imagine”, claiming irregularities in how it was initiated and investigated.
But federal prosecutors have rebuffed the claims. In legal filings made in recent weeks, special counsel David Weiss’ office said politics had no bearing on the case and dismissed claims that the charges were pursued to appease Republicans, calling the assertion “conspiratorial” and “nothing more than a house of cards.”
U.S District Judge Mark Scarsi appeared doubtful of the argument during the hearing, pointing to a lack of evidence to support the assertion that politics had any influence on the charges.
Biden did not appear for the hearing Wednesday, but he pleaded not guilty to nine federal tax charges in the Central District of California in January, after federal prosecutors alleged he engaged in “a four-year scheme” to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes and charged him with failure to file and pay taxes, tax evasion and filing a false tax return.
Biden’s attorneys also argued that the tax charges violated a diversion agreement between federal prosecutors and the president’s son last year.
A plea agreement on two misdemeanor tax charges and a diversion agreement stemming from a firearms charge unraveled in court in July 2023, when the judge questioned whether the agreement would allow Biden to avoid potential future charges. Biden’s attorneys maintained the agreement was still legally binding. Federal prosecutors said the “proposed agreement” had not been approved the U.S. Office of Probation and Pretrial Services and had not yet gone into effect.
Judge Scarsi will issue a decision on April 17.
The motion to dismiss hearing comes as Republican-led congressional committees are winding down an impeachment inquiry into President Biden that centered in part on whether the president profited from Hunter Biden’s business ventures and whether senior officials in the Biden administration took steps to impede criminal probes into the president’s son.
In a closed-door deposition before lawmakers in February, Hunter Biden dismissed the inquiry as a “baseless and destructive political charade,” contending his father had no involvement in his business dealings.
Rep. James Comer, Republican of Kentucky and chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, signaled he will prepare criminal referrals at the conclusion of the investigation. Critics of the inquiry say the GOP-led congressional committees have not yet produced any evidence of wrongdoing by Mr. Biden.
Elli Fitzgerald contributed reporting.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.