Hunter Biden, son of the President of the United States, Joe Bidenpleaded not guilty to the charges against him this Thursday in a California court for alleged tax evasion.
Biden, 52, appeared before a judge in Los Angeles for an initial hearing in the case in which he is accused of failing to pay around $1.4 million (1.2 million euros at today's exchange rate) in federal taxes over a four-year period to have paid between 2016 and 2019, according to US media reports.
The president's son faces nine counts, including failure to file and pay taxes and filing false or fraudulent tax returns, according to court documents.
Hunter Biden, according to prosecutors, stated: “He spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle instead of paying his taxes.”
The prosecution was led by prosecutor David Weiss, who had already filed an initial indictment in the middle of this year against the son of the Democratic president on three counts of concealing his addiction by purchasing a gun in 2018.
This first hearing comes a day after Hunter Biden's surprise appearance before a Republican-controlled House committee that is investigating alleged influence over the Biden family's businesses to decide whether to put the president on trial. political (“impeachment proceedings”).
Biden's son was subpoenaed to testify behind closed doors on December 13, but instead of appearing before the committee, he made only a statement to reporters at the base of the Capitol, qualifying him for contempt.