Hunter Biden will ask a judge at a hearing on Wednesday to delay his tax trial in California, marking the latest request from the first son to push off his legal proceedings as he juggles two criminal cases.
Biden’s scheduled appearance comes on the heels of his attorneys also filing a slate of requests Tuesday evening to restrict special counsel David Weiss from using certain evidence at trial.
Biden’s attorneys requested Judge Mark Scarsi prohibit the government from introducing any references to Biden’s “extravagant” lifestyle, including “any salacious details about money purportedly spent on certain personal expenses, including, but not limited to, reference to sex workers, adult entertainment, a sex club membership, pornography, and strip clubs.”
Biden’s attorneys claimed the information would be unnecessarily prejudicial to a jury and that it was irrelevant to his charges, which include tax evasion, failure to file taxes, and filing false returns. Weiss alleged Biden spent exorbitant amounts of money on frivolous expenses, including strippers and pornography, while neglecting his taxes.
“Unnecessary salacious details — especially relating to collateral alleged sexual conduct — is exactly the type of prejudicial, inflammatory evidence that makes a conviction more likely because it provokes an emotional response in the jury,” Biden’s attorneys wrote.
His exclusion requests also included statements Biden made at a hearing in Delaware last summer, during which he signaled he would plead guilty to three tax misdemeanors as part of a since-withdrawn plea deal. Biden is now set to go to trial in California for six tax misdemeanors and three felonies.
Additionally, Biden, a recovering drug addict, asked to exclude from trial any mentions that he was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine. He argued the prejudicial impact of that evidence being presented to a jury would far outweigh any other value it might have.
Making such exclusion requests is a standard part of a criminal trial, but Biden’s shed light on the types of information, particularly about his lavish expenses during the tax years in question, that the first son is seeking to avoid as he defends himself.
Biden’s trial in California is scheduled to begin on June 20, but he is expected to ask Scarsi to delay it until September.
In Delaware, where Biden is facing three felony gun charges, the first son already unsuccessfully asked a judge to push off that trial, which is set to begin on June 3.
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On Monday, his attorneys asked a full bench of appellate court judges to reconsider his bid to dismiss the gun charges after the district court and a three-judge appellate court panel rejected his initial dismissal requests. Biden’s attorneys have asked the appellate court to halt his legal proceedings in Delaware while his appeal remains pending.
The first son’s efforts to delay his trials come after Politico reported last week that the first son’s legal fights, which are being led by Abbe Lowell, a prominent and expensive white-collar attorney, may have run into a funding roadblock. Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris was providing cash to Biden to support his court battles but has recently said he has run out of money to give to the first son, according to the outlet.