Hunter Biden Attends Church With Wife Melissa, Just Days After Tax Evasion Indictment

One day after being charged with nine tax offenses, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was seen at a church event in Los Angeles on Friday, December 8. Images of the First Son and his spouse Melissa Cohen Biden, who attended the function at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in the Palms district, were acquired by The Daily Mail.    

Late on Thursday night, Special Prosecutor David Weiss filed the allegations against Hunter, charging him with a $1.4 million, four-year tax evasion scheme. The nine allegations consist of four counts for failing to pay taxes for the tax years 2016–2019, two felonies for filing fraudulent returns in 2018, one felony charge for tax evasion in 2018, and two charges for failing to file in 2017 and 2018.

Not only is the result of this case important for Hunter personally, but it may also have an impact on President Joe's political destiny. The seriousness of this scenario is further highlighted by the continuing House Republican probe into Hunter's financial dealings and the possible impeachment investigation of President Biden.

As reported by the New York Times, salacious details regarding the president's son's use of money on “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature”—all while avoiding paying tax—are included in last week's tax charges. This is the second indictment against Hunter this year. Special Counsel David C. Weiss wrote, "Despite being engaged in little to no business activity, the defendant directed Personal Assistant 2 in 2018 to place on payroll and provide health care benefits to three women with whom he had romantic or sexual relationships." Along with the continuing congressional investigation into his offshore business operations, there are now reports of further charges for unlawful foreign lobbying. 

Hunter was accused on three separate charges by the grand jury in the Central District of California of evading a tax assessment, failing to file and pay taxes, and submitting a false or fraudulent tax return. He may spend up to 17 years in jail if found guilty, according to Justice Department representatives. The accusations were brought against him five months after it seemed like he was close to reaching a plea agreement that would have spared him from prison time and maybe given him complete immunity from any further charges relating to his business activities. However, the deal fell through, and in September he was charged in Delaware with three felonies related to his unlawful purchase of a firearm in 2018, a time when he was a heavy drug user. Abbe Lowell, the lead attorney for Biden, harshly chastised Weiss for the decision to indict, claiming that he was giving in to pressure from Republicans who had made a concerted attempt to undermine the plea agreement before it was signed.