The federal tax trial against Hunter Biden is scheduled to begin on September 5 in Los Angeles

Los Angeles — In a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors Hunter Biden's federal tax case and his defense attorneys argued over what evidence could be presented as the trial's September 5 start date approached.

Mark Geragos, a new member of Hunter Biden's legal team, accused prosecutors of trying to turn the case into a “character assassination.”

“If they want to bring this case to trial based on the facts and the legal evidence, we are very confident,” Geragos said.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have sought to exclude references to the causes of Biden's addiction, including the deaths of his biological mother and sister, while District Judge Mark Scarsi seemed skeptical about why the cause of his addiction was relevant to Biden's defense. The case centers on Biden's struggle with substance abuse from 2016 to 2019, the period during which prosecutors allege he committed the tax offenses.

Hunter Biden was charged with nine tax offenses in a federal case, shortly after a Conviction for a serious weapons offense in Delaware for the illegal purchase and possession of a firearm, for which the president's son will be sentenced in November.

Special Counsel David Weiss' office filed charges in both cases after reaching a plea agreement on two tax offenses and a diversion agreement related to the firearms charge. dissolved in court in July 2023 when the judge raised the question of whether the agreement would allow Hunter Biden to avoid possible future charges and tax burdens.

In a 56-page indictment, prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden participated in a “four-year conspiracy” from 2016 to 2019 to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. They charge him with felonies and misdemeanors related to his alleged failure to file and pay taxes, tax evasion and filing a false or fraudulent tax return.

Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges. If convicted, he faces up to 17 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Hunter Biden earned more than $7 million gross while not paying taxes. He financed an “extravagant lifestyle” and evaded taxes by declaring certain personal expenses – such as stays at luxury hotels, rentals of luxury vehicles and escort services – as business deductions.

Biden's lawyers asked Scarsi to omit mentions of some of the more “offensive” details related to his spending, which they said were “unnecessary,” “biased” and “inflammatory” but would also likely sway a jury to convict. At the hearing, prosecutors acknowledged that the evidence was “ugly and personal” but showed Biden's “sophisticated” decisions about how he makes and spends money.

“We have a special prosecutor's office that wants to prove on one coast that Hunter was an addict during that time and then comes to the other coast to run away from it and reframe it as an extravagant lifestyle,” Geragos said.

Scarsi did not immediately comment on arguments related to the cause of Biden's addiction and details of his lifestyle, but sided with prosecutors and omitted any mention of the fact that Biden paid his delinquent taxes through third parties after an investigation began.

“The crime was completed – he did not pay the fine,” prosecutors argued at the hearing.

Prosecutors also assured that there will be no testimony during the trial alleging that Biden violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) or improperly collaborated with the Obama administration. However, they will present evidence and testimony about Biden's foreign business dealings, which they say would show millions in income relevant to the case. Geragos criticized government documents that show Biden received payments from a foreign principal – a Romanian businessman – to influence U.S. policy.

Scarsi ruled that no evidence would be admitted in the trial suggesting that Biden violated FARA or colluded with the Obama administration.

Elli Fitzgerald contributed.