A U.S. judge on Wednesday will be asked to dismiss the criminal case accusing Hunter Biden of evading $1.4 million in taxes.
Attorneys for the president’s son will argue prosecutors bowed to political pressure from Republican lawmakers investigating his father.
Nine charges, including three felonies: allegedly failing to file taxes, evading an assessment, and filing a fraudulent form, are at issue.
Reuters reports Hunter Biden’s lawyers will appear before U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi in federal court in Los Angeles to press several legal challenges to the charges, including an argument he was selectively targeted by prosecutors in response to Republican criticism over alleged earlier lenient treatment.
Hunter Biden, 54, pleaded not guilty to failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other big-ticket items. His lawyer has said he paid back the money in full.
If convicted on these charges, Hunter Biden could face up to 17 years in prison.
The father of four is also facing federal charges over felony gun offences, to which he has already pleaded not guilty.
The trial is due to start June 20, a few months before Americans vote in a November presidential election already shaping as a tight contest between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Special Counsel David Weiss, who brought both cases, has accused Hunter Biden’s legal team of spreading “conspiracy theories” about the prosecution and said the justice department, under the Biden administration, would not act at the direction of Republican lawmakers.