Hunter Biden’s lawyers say claims about foreign business dealing have no place in upcoming tax trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden’s lawyers say prosecutors are inappropriately trying to insert “politically-charged” allegations about his foreign business dealings into the upcoming federal tax trial against the president’s son.

Special counsel David Weiss’ team told the judge last week that they plan to call to the witness stand a business associate of Hunter Biden’s to testify about an arrangement with a Romanian businessman who was trying to “influence U.S. government policy” during Joe Biden’s term as vice president.

Hunter Biden’s lawyers responded in court papers filed Sunday that such matters are irrelevant in the case headed for trial next month in Los Angeles over at least $1.4 million in taxes he owed between 2016 and 2019.

Furthermore, defense lawyers allowing such testimony would confuse jurors, and slammed prosecutors for showcasing “these matters on the eve of Mr. Biden’s trial—when there is no mention of political influence in the 56-page Indictment.”

“The Special Counsel’s unnecessary change of tactic merely echoes the baseless and false allegations of foreign wrongdoing which have been touted by House Republicans to use Mr. Biden’s proper business activities in Romania and elsewhere to attack him and his father,” the defense wrote.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Hunter Biden was hired by Romanian businessman trying to ‘influence’ US agencies, prosecutors say </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Hunter