Judge threatens to sanction Hunter Biden’s legal team over ‘false statements’ in a court filing

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in California is threatening to sanction Hunter Biden’s lawyers, saying they made “false statements” in a court filing asking the judge to throw out the tax case against President Joe Biden’s son.

U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi accused lawyers for the Democratic president’s son of “misrepresenting the history” of the case when they said in court papers filed last week that no charges were brought in the investigation until after Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss was named special counsel in August 2023.

“These statements, however, are not true, and Mr. Biden’s counsel knows they are not true,” wrote Scarsi, who was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump, a Republican.

The judge noted that Weiss had not yet been named special counsel when he charged Hunter Biden with misdemeanor tax offenses as part of a plea deal that fell apart last year. Scarsi ordered Hunter Biden’s lawyers to explain why they should not be sanctioned.

Attorney Mark Geragos told The Associated Press on Thursday that Hunter Biden’s legal team would respond to the judge, but he insisted it made no false statements. Geragos noted that Weiss, as Delaware U.S. attorney, had no authority to file the tax charges in California until after he was named special counsel.

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