Hunter Biden’s attorney claims nobody else would be indicted in the same situation as the First Son faces 17 years in prison for ‘evading’ $1.4M tax bill
Hunter Biden’s lawyer has slammed tax evasion charges against the president’s son, saying no one in a similar situation would face criminal charges.
“Where is the honesty, fairness and integrity in this?” This was stated by lawyer Abby Lowell in an interview with the publication. CNN on Friday after Hunter was charged with nine new charges carrying penalties of up to 17 years in prison.
The 56-page indictment filed by special prosecutor David Weiss accuses Hunter of scheming to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes he owed from 2016 to 2019, while spending lavishly on drugs, prostitutes and extravagant Lifestyle.
“The allegations in this new tax charge speak to a period when Hunter was at the lowest point of his addiction,” Lowell said.
“And like people do for that matter, and I know everyone in America has someone in their family or among their friends who suffers from addiction, he definitely did things that he’s not proud of.”
Hunter Biden’s lawyer has slammed tax evasion charges against the president’s son, saying no one in a similar situation would face criminal charges.
– But wait, what happened then? Lowell continued. “He got sober in 2019. And he paid all taxes due on this charge more than two years ago, with interest and penalties.”
“No one in this position will be charged with the same charges as yesterday, no one,” the lawyer said.
Hunter already faces separate gun charges in Delaware, raising the possibility that he could face trial in two separate cases as his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for re-election.
The charges against Hunter could deepen political complications for his father, President Joe Biden, who appears to be facing a tight presidential race in which Donald Trump is the leading contender for the GOP nomination.
Criminal tax cases tend to be very rare, Beverly Moran, a tax law expert at Vanderbilt University, told The Associated Press.
Based on 2021 Internal Revenue Service data, the average American has about as good a chance of winning the lottery as being prosecuted for tax fraud, she said.
“Most people who commit tax fraud spend their entire lives doing nothing. They are not checked, they are not caught, they are not held accountable,” she said. “But if they are prosecuted, they will be convicted.”
Of the 665 cases referred to criminal prosecution in 2021, about 90 percent resulted in convictions, according to the IRS.
“Where is the honesty, fairness and integrity in this?” Abby Lowell’s lawyer told CNN on Friday after Hunter was charged with nine new charges.
The 56-page indictment filed by special prosecutor David Weiss accuses Hunter of conspiring to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes he owed from 2016 to 2019.
However, tax evasion can lead to imprisonment. Actor Wesley Snipes spent three years in prison after being convicted in 2008 of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns in a case in which he owed nearly $7 million in taxes.
Cases against celebrities and other well-known people can also generate attention that can help convince other people to file their taxes on time, Moran said.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie predicted Friday that Hunter would have to serve prison time even if he signs a new plea agreement.
Christie, who is running for the Republican nomination in 2024, spoke with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Friday afternoon.
“I’m sure he could negotiate a plea deal at this point, but it wouldn’t be the kind of good deal he’s gotten in the past,” said Christie, the former federal prosecutor. ‘
And I assume that due to the combination of the firearms charges and the tax charges, Hunter Biden will have to serve time in prison.”
The White House has repeatedly insisted that President Biden will not pardon his son, a position that has not changed, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday.