Attorneys for Hunter Biden filed several motions in federal court Tuesday to dismiss federal tax charges filed against him in California, arguing they violate a diversion agreement between President Biden’s son and prosecutors last year and are part of a “selective and vindictive prosecution” that has been compromised by politics. 

“This case follows a nearly six-year record of [the Justice Department] changing its charging decisions and upping the ante on Mr. Biden in direct response to political pressure and its own self-interests,” attorneys for Hunter Biden said in legal filings.

Hunter Biden 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 the president’s son with failure to file and pay taxes, tax evasion and filing a false tax return.

In the 56-page indictment, prosecutors also alleged Hunter Biden earned more than $7 million in gross income when he failed to pay taxes, funding an “extravagant lifestyle” and evading taxes by classifying some personal expenditures — such as luxury hotel stays, luxury vehicle rentals, and escort services — as business deductions.

Attorneys for Hunter Biden argue in recently filed court documents that “salacious” portions of the indictment characterizing Biden’s personal expenditures should be redacted, are irrelevant to the law and are “meant to depict Mr. Biden as irresponsible, frivolous, and otherwise of questionable character and integrity.”

In their legal filings, attorneys for Biden also asserted that special counsel David Weiss’ appointment was unlawful and funding for the investigation had not been approved by Congress, violating the Appropriations Clause.

A spokesperson for Weiss declined to comment.

The investigation into Hunter Biden, led by Weiss, spanned nearly six years, beginning during the Trump administration and carrying over into the Biden administration.

Republican-led congressional committees probing Hunter Biden’s personal finances and his foreign business dealings have centered most of their investigative focus on whether senior officials in the Biden administration took steps to impede criminal probes into the president’s son, and whether he personally benefited from any foreign business brokered by his family.

Hunter Biden has denied that his father was financially involved in his business dealings. 

IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, case agents previously assigned to the Hunter Biden investigation, told lawmakers they recommended federal charges be brought against the president’s son for tax violations but testified before Congress that Weiss had said he was denied special counsel status and was “not the deciding person” to bring charges in the case. They alleged intentional slow walking and “an undeniable pattern of preferential treatment” in the federal investigation.  

“There were really earth-shaking statements made by David Weiss,” Shapley told CBS News last year. “And the first one was that he is not the deciding person on whether or not charges are filed,” the whistleblower added. “It was just shocking to me.” Weiss, however, told Congress, he was never “blocked or otherwise prevented from pursuing charges” or his investigation. Garland granted Weiss special counsel status last August.

In the court documents, Hunter Biden’s legal counsel alleged IRS whistleblowers Shapley and Ziegler, as agents of the government, engaged in a “public media campaign” to “force prosecutors’ hands to bring charges” against Biden, and federal agencies did not prevent the disclosure of Hunter Biden’s confidential tax information violating Biden’s due process of law.

Hunter Biden is expected to appear before the Republican-led House Committees on Oversight and Accountability and on the Judiciary in a closed-door interview next week, as House Republicans continue their impeachment inquiry into President Biden. The GOP-led congressional committees have yet to produce evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden. 

The White House has dismissed the impeachment inquiry as a ” baseless political stunt.”

More from CBS News

Erica Brown

Erica Brown covers investigative stories, often on politics, as a multiplatform reporter and producer at CBS News. She previously worked for BBC News and NBC News.

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Hunter Biden files motions to dismiss tax charges against him in California appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

President Biden’s brother James was secretly recorded by the FBI during a bribery investigation into a Mississippi trial attorney who shelled out $100,000 to his consulting firm in the late 1990s, a report said on Sunday.

Richard Scruggs, the trial attorney, hired James and Sara Biden’s DC consulting firm while seeking to gin up support for tobacco legislation being contemplated by Congress in 1998, the Washington Post reported.

Neither James, 74, nor his brother President Joe Biden, 81, were implicated in any major criminal wrongdoing in the case. But the revelation comes amid an impeachment probe into alleged influence-peddling by the president’s family members.

“I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother,” Scruggs told the Washington Post about why he forked over cash to James Biden’s firm.

“Jim was never untoward about his influence,” he added. “He didn’t brag about it or talk about it. He didn’t have to. He was the man’s brother.”

Scruggs, who was later sent to prison over a separate bribery scheme, had been closing in on a deal to push the tobacco companies to cough up billions of dollars in a lawsuit alleging they withheld information that their products were addictive.

Richard ‘Dickie’ Scruggs served roughly five years in prison. NBC

Seeking some $368 billion, Scruggs needed Congress to waive antitrust provisions as part of a settlement deal. Joe Biden in 1997, initially said, he was “not yet convinced that this settlement is a good deal.”

Despite initially being reluctant, Joe Biden, who sat on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee as the ranking member, ultimately became one of its most significant backers.

Ultimately, the bill failed to clear Congress. Biden, at the time, cited an intense campaign by the tobacco industry that he claimed swayed Republicans.

Lion Hall

While seeking support from the then-Delaware senator, Scruggs made multiple $10,000 payments to Lion Hall, James and Sara Biden’s consulting firm, over roughly a year, according to the Washington Post.

Scruggs was unsure if James convinced his brother to back the bill, but told The Washington Post, “I hope he did.”

A lawyer for James Biden was adamant that his “work has never involved speaking with or providing access to his brother.” The lawyer has not responded to requests for additional comment from The Post.

Sara and James Biden’s financial machinations have drawn attention from House GOP investigators. AP

Lion Hall has come into focus for Republican congressional investigators looking into whether the president’s brother has used the company to filter money to the rest of the Biden family.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has flagged a $40,000 check marked as a “loan repayment” from James to Joe in 2017.

Comer alleges that the payment was “laundered” money from the Chinese government-linked CEFC. As evidence, Comer points to a series of transactions to the president’s brother’s account.

James Comer and Jim Jordan have been investigating the Biden family’s business dealings. Getty Images

The White House, however, has forcefully rejected that notion and highlighted bank records that indicate the president did indeed make a loan to his brother.

In November House GOP impeachment inquiry subpoenaed both James and Hunter Biden for testimony this month, but both men skipped it. Hunter Biden offered to testify publicly, but Republicans slapped that down, insisting that he appear behind closed doors.

Last week, the GOP-led House voted to formally authorize the impeachment probe into Biden over the alleged dealings.

Republicans have been mulling the possibility of holding Hunter Biden in contempt, which would then go to the Justice Department to decide whether or not to press charges.

The taping

Years after the tobacco bill hubbub, FBI authorities began to investigate Scruggs over an alleged bribery scheme involving supposed plans to funnel $40,000 to a local judge.

During that investigation, agents recorded phone calls, including ones from James Biden, according to the report. At the time, James Biden was reportedly attempting to create a firm with Scruggs partners.

Although James Biden was never implicated in the bribery scheme, Scruggs and some of his partners were ultimately sent to jail.

A lawyer for the president’s brother insisted he was never aware of that scheme and nascent plans for a partnership “never got off the ground.”

President Biden has reportedly been deeply bothered by the attacks on his family. Corbis via Getty Images

Recordings reviewed by the Washington Post showed much of the recorded calls James Biden was on, discussed the potential partnership.

“I told him we had formalized our relationship with you guys,” lawyer Tim Balducci told him during one call.

“I told him about the real Washington presence, that this was not going to be a bulls––, you know, a shingle hung somewhere in the window,” he added. “That this was a real deal, that Sara was coming on, you know, as a named partner, an equity share in the venture, that we were changing the name of the firm to include her.”

“Hunter was going to be involved, and you were going to be involved.”

Scruggs told the Washington Post that he never really intended to be part of that potential venture.

How Scruggs met the Bidens

Scruggs became chummy with Biden’s brother due to his ties with Steve Patterson, an aide to former Sen. John Stennis (D-Miss.), the Washington Post reported.

Stennis was a segregationist who differed dramatically from Biden during his early days in the upper chamber.

The eventual president became friendly with Patterson in the years that followed, as did his brother James. Patterson reportedly connected James and Scruggs during the 1990s.

“Biden wouldn’t have known anybody in Mississippi if not for me. That’s just a fact. I take ownership of that,” Patterson told the outlet. “Biden loved Mississippi.”

The president has insisted he was not ensnared in the financial maneuverings of his family. AP

The Post contacted the White House for comment. Scruggs was not available for comment.

The White House has contended there isn’t sufficient evidence to launch an impeachment probe and amplified several Republicans who have publicly aired their misgivings about the inquiry.

attorney-pursuing-tobacco-bill-in-congress/”>Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post FBI secretly taped James Biden as it probed attorney who paid $100K to his consulting firm appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

CNN
 — 

Hunter Biden sued the Internal Revenue Service on Monday, alleging its agents illegally released his tax information and that the agency failed to protect his private records.

President Joe Biden’s son alleges the IRS unlawfully disclosed his tax return information and did not establish safeguards to ensure the confidentiality of his records. He is seeking, among other things, all documents involving the disclosure of the tax information, $1,000 for each unauthorized disclosure and attorneys fees.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Washington, DC, does not name the two IRS agents turned whistleblowers as defendants. But the lawsuit is centered on disclosures made by the agents, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, and their lawyers in public statements, congressional testimony and interviews.

Judge Timothy Kelly, a Donald Trump appointee, has been assigned to the case.

It’s being filed amid a swirl of other legal issues facing Hunter Biden, who was indicted by special counsel David Weiss on three felony gun charges last week and is potentially facing additional tax charges by Weiss.

“Despite clear warnings from Congress that they were prohibited from disclosing the contents of their testimony to the public in another forum, Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler’s testimony only emboldened their media campaign against Mr. Biden,” the lawsuit states. “And finally, since their public testimony before the House of Representatives on July 19, 2023, the agents have become regular guests on national media outlets and have made new allegations and public statements regarding Mr. Biden’s confidential tax return information that were not previously included in their transcripts before the Committee on Ways and Means.”

Specifically, Hunter Biden’s attorneys point to details Shapley shared in an interview with CBS News that aired in late June. During the interview, Shapley alleged that Biden took certain personal expenses as business expenses, including “prostitutes, sex club memberships, hotel rooms for purported drug dealers,” and that Biden owed $2.2 million in unpaid taxes, the lawsuit alleges.

Shapley’s attorneys called the lawsuit a “frivolous smear” and said the agents only discussed information allowed under the statute. Ziegler’s attorney said the lawsuit is an effort to “distract from the ever-growing evidence that supports the testimony of the two IRS whistleblowers.”

The IRS said it does not comment on pending litigation.

“The lawsuit is about the decision by IRS employees, their representatives, and others to disregard their obligations and repeatedly and intentionally publicly disclose and disseminate Mr. Biden’s protected tax return information outside the exceptions for making disclosures in the law,” the lawsuit alleges.

The suit adds: “These agents’ putative ‘whistleblower’ status cannot and does not shield them from their wrongful conduct in making unauthorized public disclosures that are not permitted by the whistleblower process. In fact, a ‘whistleblower’ is supposed to uncover government misconduct, not the details of that employee’s opinion about the alleged wrongdoing of a private person.”

The lawsuit alleges Shapley and Ziegler went beyond confirming the investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and provided specific allegations, the amount of deductions taken and liabilities owed for tax years.

Tensions have been rising in the investigation. On Friday, Shapley’s lawyers issued a statement saying Hunter Biden’s attorneys have tried to get the Justice Department to retaliate against their clients for making disclosures protected under whistleblower rules.

“Taxpayer privacy laws are written by Congress, and it gave itself authority in those laws to hear disclosures about taxpayer information,” Shapley’s attorney said in a statement on Friday.

The IRS agents went public with their allegations concerning the Justice Department’s handling of investigation into Hunter Biden earlier this year.

In June, the Justice Department announced it had reached a deal with Hunter Biden in which he would plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors for failing to pay his taxes on time in 2017 and 2018. He had also reached a deal to avoid prosecution on a gun possession charge, but the deal fell apart after a federal judge prodded its structure.

After the judge would not sign off on the deal, talks broke down between Weiss’ office and Hunter Biden’s attorneys. Weiss asked for special counsel status.

This story has been updated with additional details.

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Hunter Biden sues the IRS, alleging agents illegally released his tax information appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.