Judge lays out schedule for Hunter Biden tax trial at tense hearing
The hearing included tense moments between the prosecution and defense over what evidence could be presented at trial pertaining to Biden’s addiction problems.
LOS ANGELES — The federal judge presiding over Hunter Biden's tax case laid out the schedule for the impending criminal trial of the president's son at a court hearing Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi said in federal court in Los Angeles that jury selection would begin Sept. 5, with opening statements expected to begin Sept. 9.
Prosecutors estimated their case would take six days to present to a jury and said fewer than 30 witnesses would testify. Biden's attorneys said presenting their defense would take about two days.
Biden, who was at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday for his father's speech, was not in court for Wednesday's hearing, which included some tense exchanges between Biden attorney Mark Geragos and prosecutor Leo Wise.
Biden, 54, was indicted in December on three felony and six misdemeanor counts alleging that he failed to pay his taxes during a period when, he has said, he was in the throes of drug addiction. The indictment says that “rather than pay his taxes, the Defendant spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle.”
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