LOS ANGELES — Welcome back to “The Surreal Life” starring Hunter Biden.
The first son pleaded not guilty Thursday to nine charges alleging that he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019 on foreign earnings that are the focus of a House impeachment inquiry into his father, President Biden
Hunter, 53, nervously fidgeted with a pen before being given a trial date of June 20 — right in the middle of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.
He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
Judge Mark Scarsi, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, presided over the roughly 30-minute arraignment at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
Hunter appeared in court without his so-called “sugar brother,” Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, or the camera crew for a long-promised documentary — which trailed him Wednesday as he crashed a House committee debate on whether to hold him in contempt for refusing to show for a Dec. 13 deposition.
Hunter Biden leaves federal court in Los Angeles after pleading not guilty on Thursday. AP
Hunter sat in the back of a black SUV driven by Secret Service agents. GAC / MEGAThe president’s son, who lives in Malibu, buttoned his navy blue suit and told the judge in a serious tone, “Not guilty,” when Scarsi asked how he would like to plead.
Scarsi imposed several standard conditions of pretrial release on Hunter, including a prohibition on using drugs or alcohol, a ban on gun possession and a requirement that he seek employment
The judge also ordered the first son to submit his state and federal taxes, detail his income and inform his case judges in both Los Angeles and Delaware if he has any travel plans.
Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell said that he needed more discovery from prosecutors — only for federal attorneys to counter that they already turned over three “voluminous” sets of documents from a five-year investigation.
Lowell said that he intended to file various motions in the case, including one that “has to do with the action of the IRS.”
Hunter’s legal team has argued that a probation-only plea deal remains in effect, even though the first son jettisoned the pact at a dramatic July court hearing in Delaware.
An SUV carrying President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. AP
Media gathers outside of the courthouse where Hunter Biden is expected to arrive on Thursday. REUTERSAt the end of the court hearing, Scarsi asked the younger Biden to enter his full name on the record. The first son stood up, looked at the judge and said, “Robert Hunter Biden.”
The first son flew back to California from Washington, DC, Wednesday night after stunning members of Congress with his surprise appearance before the House Oversight Committee, which is one of the panels leading the impeachment inquiry into his father for frequently interacting with foreign associates who were paying members of the Biden family.
Hunter “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” according to the 56-page California indictment filed last month, including payments for “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes.”
The splurging added up to $1.64 million in ATM withdrawals, $683,212 for “payments to various women,” $397,530 for clothing and accessories and $188,960 on adult entertainment, among other line items.
Hunter also claimed false tax deductions for “consulting” while making payments to “various women who were either romantically involved with or otherwise performing personal services” for him, prosecutors allege.
In one instance, Hunter also made use of a business line of credit to pay $27,000 to a porn site, “which in total accounted for one fifth of all of the business line of credit expenditures.”
Hunter Biden flew back to California from DC on Wednesday evening after surprise appearance at a House Oversight Committee. REUTERSIn his 2021 memoir “Beautiful Things,” Hunter recounted his descent into alcohol and drug addiction — most notably crack cocaine — after the death in 2015 of his older brother, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden.
Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer who made his fortune negotiating licensing deals on behalf of “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, sprang into action to bankroll Hunter in an attempt to head off tax charges after meeting him for the first time at a late 2019 political fundraiser.
In a Feb. 7, 2020, email — about two months after they met — Morris contacted accountants on Hunter’s behalf to warn them to work quickly due to “considerable risk personally and politically.”
Morris reportedly gave at least $4.9 million over three years to Hunter to cover his back taxes and living expenses. Republican critics question whether that generosity is a de facto campaign contribution to the elder Biden.
The first son is arriving at the courthouse for an arraignment hearing Thursday. APMorris is also bankrolling the gauzy documentary about the first son to contrast Hunter’s lavish life as a middle-aged artist with ongoing criminal and congressional investigations into his past.
The first son walked away from an agreement that would have covered both tax and gun offenses over his demand for courtroom assurances that he had broad immunity for other past conduct, including possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which could implicate his father.
Hunter’s decision to renege on his plea deal came after Delaware federal Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the terms of the arrangement, in which prosecutors declined to affirm the first son had blanket immunity, despite Hunter’s insistence that that was the deal — a stance that seemed to be supported by the subsequent release of a legal side agreement.
The first son in the car ducking underneath leaving the courthouse.
Hunter pleaded not guilty in October to three federal gun charges in Delaware that were filed after he rejected what critics slammed as a “sweetheart” plea deal.
Hunter pleaded not guilty in October to three federal gun charges in Delaware that were filed after he rejected what critics slammed as a “sweetheart” plea deal.
The foreign funds flowed from countries such as China, where Hunter engaged in two major ventures with state-backed companies, and Ukraine, where he earned up to $1 million per year beginning in 2014, when his father as vice president led US policy toward the country.
The first son thumbed his nose at House Republicans the day before his California arraignment with his presence on Capitol Hill, where the Oversight Committee was meeting to consider holding him in contempt of Congress, itself a crime punishable by a minimum of 30 days behind bars.
Law enforcement officers patrol the courthouse with a dog on Thursday. APThe House panel subpoenaed Hunter on Nov. 8 to appear for a deposition the following month and testify about his foreign deals — but he flouted the request and instead delivered a speech to the press outside the Capitol, in which he claimed his father was not “financially” involved in his business.
House Republicans say that Hunter sold access to his father and are investigating Joe Biden for interacting with many of his son’s foreign partners as well as those of first brother James Biden.
The impeachment inquiry is also reviewing allegations of a Justice Department cover-up to shield Joe and Hunter Biden in a five-year tax investigation.
IRS supervisor Gary Shapley, who oversaw the probe for three years, and case agent Joseph Ziegler, who worked on the inquiry for five years, told Congress last year that Justice Department leaders misled Congress about the investigation, tipped off Hunter’s legal team to investigative steps, didn’t share evidence and investigative leads and forbade lines of inquiry into Joe Biden, even when communications directly implicated him in the dealings.
Hunter Biden is appearing for allegedly evading taxes on foreign earnings. Getty ImagesIn one widely cited example, Shapley and Ziegler said they were not allowed to get cellphone location data that could have proved Joe Biden was with his son in July 2017 when Hunter sent a threatening text message to a Chinese government-linked businessman saying, “I am sitting here with my father” and warning of retribution.
Within 10 days of that message, $5.1 million flowed to accounts linked to Hunter and James Biden from CEFC China Energy — after a tranche of $1 million earlier that year, less than two months after Joe Biden left office as vice president.
A May 2017 email penciled in Joe Biden, referred to as the “big guy,” for a 10% cut from CEFC dealings.
The IRS whistleblowers also said that Attorney General Merrick Garland misled Congress under oath about Delaware US Attorney David Weiss’ ability to independently bring charges against the first son.
Biden-appointed US attorneys in Los Angeles and Washington have since confirmed that they declined to partner with Weiss, who in August was elevated by Garland to special counsel status so that he could refile the cases.
The impeachment inquiry is also reviewing allegations of a Justice Department cover-up to shield Joe and Hunter Biden in a five-year tax investigation. REUTERSCritics have questioned Weiss’ decision not to seek charges under FARA and his office’s alleged actions to allow Hunter to run out the statute of limitations on older tax charges.
Hunter’s decision to renege on his plea deal came after Delaware federal Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the terms of the arrangement, in which prosecutors declined to affirm the first son had blanket immunity, despite Hunter’s insistence that that was the deal — a stance that seemed to be supported by the subsequent release of a legal side deal.






