Why Hunter Biden's new tax charges could have deep political impact

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has been hit with new criminal charges in California accusing him of scheming to avoid paying his taxes while spending lavishly on everything from luxury hotels to escorts to exotic cars.

The president’s son is also facing separate firearm charges in Delaware, raising the possibility he could be headed toward trial in two different cases as his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for re-election.

Some of the allegations in the 56-page indictment largely track what’s been previously aired about Hunter Biden’s life when he was in the throes of drug addiction, but the sordid new details of his personal spending and alleged scheming to avoid tax payments could add to the political complications for his father. Joe Biden looks likely to face a close presidential race where Donald Trump is the leading contender for the GOP nomination.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, for his part, said the taxes have since been paid and argued Hunter Biden is being targeted because of his father’s political position.

Here’s a look at the situation:

FILE — Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, walks from Marine One upon arrival at Fort McNair, June 25, 2023, in Washington. Hunter Biden has been indicted on nine tax charges in California as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of the president’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Criminal tax cases generally are very rare, said Beverly Moran, a tax law expert at Vanderbilt University. The average American has almost as good a chance of winning the lottery as being criminally prosecuted for tax fraud, she said, based on 2021 data from the Internal Revenue Service.

“Most people who commit tax fraud go through their entire lives without anything happening. They don’t audited, they don’t get caught, they don’t get prosecuted,” she said. “But if they get prosecuted, they get convicted.”

Of the 665 cases that were referred for prosecution in 2021, about 90% resulted in a conviction, the IRS data shows.

Many tax cases, though, are resolved before charges are filed, said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor