During a pre-trial hearing in Hunter Biden’s federal tax evasion case Wednesday, defense attorney Ma
redstate.com
During a pre-trial hearing in Hunter Biden’s federal tax evasion case Wednesday, defense attorney Mark Geragos revealed his team’s unsurprising strategy and prosecutors laid out some details of the evidence they plan to introduce during the trial, which is scheduled to begin September 5 in Los Angeles.
Attorneys for both sides argued their motions in limine, which are “motions that seek the exclusion of specific evidence or arguments from being presented during a trial.”
Judging by the motions filed and the arguments made Wednesday, it seems the defense strategy will be to argue that while in the throes of addiction Hunter had diminished mental capacity, and secondarily that his tax preparers and advisors had some type of enhanced responsibility to ensure that his deductions were all legit and shirked that responsibility.
Assistant US Attorney Leo Wise hit back at that strategy, saying:
“No matter how many drugs you take, you don’t suddenly forget that when you make $11 million you need to pay taxes.”
Geragos argued at length that he should be able to call an addiction expert who’ll supposedly provide testimony that Hunter’s cocaine addiction was caused by traumas such as the 1972 car crash that killed his mother and sister and his brother Beau’s death in 2015, but in the expert witness disclosure he failed to list any of the particular opinions this expert would give or the methodology used or how the expert arrived at that opinion.
The prosecution argued that without knowing these details there was no way they could prepare to cross-examine the witness or call their own rebuttal expert. On that motion Judge Mark Scarsi ruled for the prosecution, excluding that expert.
Scarsi also ruled that witnesses can testify to what they observed about the level of Hunter’s drug use over time, but not opine as to what they think caused it. Witnesses such as Hallie Biden could testify to Hunter’s drug use, Wise said, and other family members the defense might call to the stand could also be asked about it. Inexplicably, Geragos then said:
“The difference between the government and the mafia is that the mafia spares women and children.”
Geragos attempted to exclude any evidence or testimony about “tabloidy” details of what Hunter Biden spent money on instead of paying taxes, saying:
“What they are asking to do is … we’re gonna sit here, we’re gonna read from his autobiography, we’re gonna talk about his paying for prostitutes, we’re gonna talk about him being on drugs 24 hours a day. That’s what they plan on presenting in their case in chief.”
The legendary defense attorney claims that the prosecution strategy is to “slime” his client by going into detail about the money Hunter spent on prostitutes, drugs, Lamborghinis, pornographic websites, and luxury hotel suites for drug-fueled orgies and claimed as business expenses…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (redstate.com)
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