Mark Geragos, the defense attorney, revealed the unsurprising plan of his team during a hearing held Wednesday in the federal tax evasion trial against Hunter Biden. Prosecutors also provided some details about the evidence that they intend to present at the trial scheduled to start on September 5 in Los Angeles.
Both sides presented their motions in Limine. These are motions that seek to exclude specific evidence or arguments during a trial.
According to the motions filed Wednesday and the arguments that were made, the defense strategy appears to be that Hunter’s mental capacity was diminished while he was addicted, and that, secondarily, his tax advisors and preparers had a greater responsibility to make sure that all of his deductions are legitimate and shrank that responsibility.
Leo Wise, Assistant US Attorney, reacted to this strategy by saying:
You don’t forget to pay tax when you earn $11 million, no matter how much you drink.
Geragos has argued that he is entitled to call an addiction expert who will supposedly testify that Hunter’s addiction to cocaine was caused by traumas like the 1972 car accident that killed his sister and mother, and the death of his brother Beau in 2015. However, in his expert witness disclosure, he did not list the opinions that this expert would provide or the method used to arrive at the opinion.
The prosecution claimed that they would not be able to prepare for cross-examination or even call their expert if they did not know these details. On this motion, Judge Mark Scarsi ruled in favor of the prosecution and excluded that expert.
Scarsi ruled also that witnesses could testify about what they saw in terms of Hunter’s drug usage over time but they couldn’t give their opinion as to the cause. Wise stated that witnesses such as Hallie Bide could testify about Hunter’s drug abuse, and the defense could ask other family members to take the stand. Geragos said, “Inexplicably,” then:
The mafia does not spare women or children.
Geragos tried to exclude any evidence about the “tabloidy details” of what Hunter Biden bought instead of paying tax, saying:
They want us to read his autobiography and talk about how he paid prostitutes. We also want to talk about the fact that he was on drugs all day long. This is what they intend to present in their case-in-chief.”
The legend defense attorney claimed that the prosecution’s strategy was to “slime his client” by going into details about the money Hunter had spent on prostitutes (including a Lamborghini), drugs, pornographic sites, luxury hotel suites used for drug-fueled parties, and Lamborghinis.
“It is a form of character assassination on the part of the prosecution to create a completely distorted, unrelated from reality picture of Mr. Biden.”
AUSA Leo Wise retorted:
“[Hunter] describes the bacchanal that is his life. The strippers in these hotels were a great way to party. He paid the strippers. He took it as a deduction for his business.”
Wise said that the government must provide specifics about how the money was spent to satisfy their burden of proof.
We don’t have to embellish the lily. He picks up this woman at the airport. He rents a Lamborghini. He then deducts it as a business cost. “The jury needs these details to determine if there was an error.”
Hunter can argue that if the prosecution does not provide the full details about what money was spent, as would be evident through bank records or other financial documents, or by witness testimony, the inclusion of the expense as a “business expense” was a mistake.
Wise gave the example of StreamRay. He said that their investigation revealed it “allowed consenting adults to meet and it is sexual in nature.”
You can spend up to $30,000 on a sexually explicit website if you wish. It’s not against the law, but it can’t be claimed as a business expense.
The government also plans on calling numerous women who were paid by Hunter during the time in question, whether through sites such as Venmo or as “employees.” Wise read from a transcript of grand jury testimony from one potential witness:
“I got a $1,500 Venmo payment.”
“Where’d you meet him?”
“In a strip club.”
“The [payment description] is for artwork. Did you sell him artwork?”
“No.”
Wise revealed that Hunter had paid several women through his Owasco PC firm as employees so that he could have the necessary number of employees to qualify for an insurance plan that covered corporate health care since Hunter required health insurance. Some of the women signed up as well. The problem is that none of these women actually worked for Hunter.
Scarsi warned the defense that they should not try to refer to evidence that he has already said would not be presented as Hunter’s team did in the Delaware Gun Case (a different group).
Scarsi stated that the Court is very strict when it comes to motions made in limine. “I’ve overturned jury decisions because of violations,” Scarsi added. Scarsi said that due to the high profile of the case, and the fact that there were so many witnesses who flew in to testify as well as the additional security costs of the trial, if his rulings regarding motions in limine are violated, “the Court” will issue monetary penalties against the attorneys in violation. These sanctions are likely to be in six figures.
Kevin Morris, an entertainment lawyer, was also found to have paid for Hunter Biden’s expenses, such as rent on his Malibu home, Porsche payments, retainers, and security details, during the period when Hunter Biden was not paying tax.
Opening statements will be made on Monday, September 9, after the jury selection begins on September 5. According to the attorneys, it will take 8 court days for them to present their evidence.
