Hunter Biden arrives at court with wife Melissa Cohen as his $1.4million tax evasion trial kicks off in LA

Hunter Biden arrived with his wife Melissa Cohen at the federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, where the jury was being selected in his tax evasion trial.

The First Son, who is due to appear in court for the second time this year, is charged with nine crimes, including three felonies and six misdemeanors, namely failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes and lying on his tax returns.

He was driven from his Malibu home to court in a convoy of black SUVs by his Secret Service escort. He was spotted walking into court, dressed in a navy suit and tie, holding his wife’s hand.

The sordid details of the case include evidence that Hunter spent tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes, drugs, hotel rooms for days of drinking, subscriptions to porn sites and a Lamborghini rental car, then deducted the expenses as business expenses on his taxes.

He is appearing in federal court in Los Angeles after suffering a humiliating defeat in Delaware in June, where a jury found him guilty of lying about his crack addiction to buy a gun in 2018.

The case is the second high-profile trial this year for Hunter, who is accused of evading $1.4 million in taxes.

The president’s 54-year-old scandal-ridden son is due to appear in Los Angeles for jury selection for his second trial in a year in which the sordid details of his life have been in the spotlight

Hunter, 54, will face the same two federal prosecutors, Leo Wise and Derek Hines, who ousted his successful Washington, D.C., attorney Abbe Lowell in the previous criminal trial.

He fervently hopes for a better outcome in this case, in which a conviction could earn him a much stiffer prison sentence of up to 17 years and a $750,000 fine.

He has left Lowell to take on famed LA attorney Mark Geragos as lead attorney, known for defending Chris Brown, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Bill Clinton’s brother Roger, Michael Jackson, Colin Kaepernick, Winona Ryder and most recently Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen” charged in connection with the death of Matthew Perry.

Both criminal cases were brought by Special Prosecutor David Weiss, following a five-year investigation into Hunter’s dissolute lifestyle and shady business dealings abroad.

According to Geragos, the Public Prosecution Service plans to use spicy details to smear the First Son before the jury.

Hunter’s team had already suffered several defeats in pre-trial hearings, potentially jeopardizing his defense plans.

Geragos wanted psychological experts to testify to convince the jury that Hunter’s drug addiction led to his unruly behavior and alleged tax evasion, and that the childhood trauma of his mother and sister, who died in a car crash in 1972, and the death of his brother from brain tumors in 2015 were the causes.

The president’s son switched lawyers for his trial, retaining prominent LA attorney Mark Geragos in July. He arrives in federal court Thursday morning

The criminal defense attorney previously represented Chris Brown, when he was accused of attacking his then-girlfriend Rihanna, and more recently Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen” charged in connection with the death of Matthew Perry.

However, Judge Mark Scarsi would hear none of it and ruled that Hunter’s expert, Joshua Lee, would not be allowed to testify.

In a further setback for the defense, Scarsi ruled that the jury will not be told that Hunter’s multimillion-dollar tax bill, which he allegedly failed to pay, was later paid by his wealthy Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris.

At a pre-trial hearing last month, the judge warned that lawyers could face a “six-figure” fine if they spoke to the jury about topics he had banned.

The prosecution plans to collect similarly damning evidence it used in the Delaware gun trial, including recordings of Hunter’s own voice reading potentially incriminating excerpts from the audiobook version of his memoir, Beautiful Things, in which he confesses to drug use.

A group of 100 jurors were questioned about their attitudes toward tax laws, their views on people who don’t pay, their family history of drug addiction and their political activities.

During a preliminary hearing last month, the defense suffered a blow in the case after Judge Scarsi ruled that the jury will not be told that Hunter’s multimillion-dollar tax bill, which he is accused of failing to pay, was later paid by his wealthy Hollywood attorney, Kevin Morris (pictured).

Hunter’s legal troubles come after compromising photos, videos, texts and emails from the president’s son, taken from his abandoned laptop, were published online

The potential jurors came from Los Angeles and six neighboring counties.

In the 2020 presidential election, voters there sided with Hunter’s father over Donald Trump, 63% to 35%.

Judge Scarsi said he would select 12 jurors and four alternate judges.

Jury selection is expected to continue through Thursday and Friday. Attorneys will begin the trial on Monday with opening statements.

Both sides estimate that the trial will last eight days.

Witnesses include Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen; his brother’s widow, who became Hunter’s mistress, Hallie Biden; and Lunden Roberts, whom he hired as an assistant, impregnated, and then cut off his company’s health insurance.

If found guilty, Hunter could still be pardoned by Joe Biden while he is president. He has said he will not pardon or even commute Hunter’s sentence, but he could change his mind in the weeks after the November election.

Hunter is expected to be sentenced in Delaware for his weapons offenses on Nov. 13, eight days after the presidential election.