Judge denies Hunter Biden motions to dismiss tax charges

U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi denied eight motions from Hunter Biden on Monday to dismiss nine federal tax charges against him in California.

Most of the motions alleged that the charges were politically motivated, even though his father is in charge of the Justice Department.

Special Prosecutor David Weiss argued that the prosecution was not political, and Scarsi agreed that there was no evidence of discrimination or bias and that the arguments presented relied on "conjecture."

"We strongly disagree with the Court's decision and will continue to vigorously pursue Mr. Biden's challenges to the abnormal way the Special Counsel handled this investigation and charged this case," defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement after the ruling.

Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges that he failed to pay $1.4 million by making false statements on tax returns, failing to report income, and claiming ineligible tax deductions. If convicted of the charges against him, Biden could spend 17 years in jail.

Biden also argued unsuccessfully that the charges violate a diversion agreement made last year and that the agreement was legally binding even though it was only a proposed agreement that had not been approved by the U.S. Office of Probation and had not yet gone into effect.