A Ninth Circuit panel has dismissed Hunter Biden's attempt to seek review of a trial judge's decision not to dismiss the charges brought by special counsel David Weiss. The charges accuse Hunter of failing to pay as much as $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 through 2019.
The three-judge panel granted the government's motion to dismiss Biden's interlocutory appeal on Tuesday night. They found that the April 1 order by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi in Los Angeles was not a final judgment or an immediately appealable collateral order.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected Biden's interlocutory appeal in a separate case where Weiss charged him with violating firearm laws.
Hunter claimed he was the victim of selective prosecution because, he argued, no one else who paid all taxes owed plus penalties would have faced three felony charges for tax evasion.
In response to these arguments, Judge Scarsi deemed Hunter's motion remarkable because he hadn't provided any admissible evidence, such as sworn declarations, to support his argument. Instead, Scarsi noted, Hunter relied on internet news sources, social media posts, and legal blogs, none of which constitutes evidence, to make his point. Scarsi stated that this alone would be sufficient to deny the motion. However, he mentioned that he nonetheless reviewed the referenced internet material to decide the motion without unduly prejudicing the defendant due to his procedural error. However, Scarsi remained unpersuaded that these reports and observations were sufficient grounds for him to dismiss the charges.
Special counsel Weiss's office charged the younger Biden with three felony and six misdemeanor charges in December. These charges accuse him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes from 2016 through 2019 and filing a false tax return for 2018. Hunter paid some of his income taxes for 2016 but did not fully pay or file by the 2017 deadline. He continued to file late until he hired new accountants in 2019, who prepared and filed his late returns and assisted him in paying all his taxes and penalties in 2021.
Read the filing here.
