A judge on Wednesday chided Hunter Biden’s lawyers and threatened to sanction them for “making false statements” in their recent motion to throw out his federal tax indictment.
District Judge Mark Scarsi issued the warning in a 3-page order where he called out Hunter Biden’s lawyers for “misrepresenting the history” of the case. He gave them one week to explain themselves, or potentially face sanctions, like professional disciplinary proceedings or monetary fines.
The dispute revolves around previous assertions from Hunter Biden’s team where they claimed special counsel David Weiss “brought no charges” in the probe when he was serving as US attorney, before he was elevated to special counsel last year.
“These statements, however, are not true, and Mr. Biden’s counsel knows they are not true,” Scarsi wrote.
In fact, as Scarsi pointed out in his order, Weiss did charge Hunter Biden with tax offenses before becoming special counsel. Weiss charged Hunter Biden with two misdemeanors in June 2023 as part of a plea deal that eventually fell apart.
After that proposed plea agreement imploded last summer, Weiss became a special counsel. He then filed the nine-count tax indictment in California, which includes two of the same misdemeanors that were supposed to be part of the plea deal.
“The misstatements in the current motion are not trivial,” Scarsi wrote, adding that he “has little tolerance for lack of candor.”
CNN has reached out to Hunter Biden’s team for comment.
Lawyers for President Joe Biden’s son made those claims in a motion to toss the indictment on the grounds that special counsels like Weiss are unconstitutionally appointed and unlawfully funded. They cited a recent ruling from District Judge Aileen Cannon, who endorsed that long shot theory and dismissed?former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case.
Unlike Hunter Biden, who was first charged by a US attorney before being charged by a special counsel, Trump was only charged by a special counsel. Scarsi wrote Wednesday that this creates a “meaningful distinction” between the two cases.
He also described Cannon’s ruling as a “nonbinding district court decision,” further signaling that he may disagree with her controversial ruling, which the prosecutors are appealing.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to tax evasion and other related offenses, and is scheduled to stand trial in September. He was convicted of three felonies last month at a separate trial, for buying and possessing a gun while addicted to illegal drugs.