Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to federal tax charges

The president’s son appeared on Thursday in a Los Angeles courtroom to enter the plea, just a day after appearing on Capitol Hill. He appeared in U.S. District Court before Judge Mark C. Scarsi, an appointee of former President Donald Trump. Hunter Biden had shown up at a House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for not appearing last month when subpoenaed to give testimony.

What are these federal tax charges again? Prosecutors say Hunter Biden failed to pay roughly $1.4 million in taxes for four years, from 2016 to 2019. The indictment includes nine total felony and misdemeanor charges against him and alleges that during those four years, he spent millions of dollars on lavish lifestyle expenses while not paying his taxes. Hunter Biden’s lawyer claims he has paid the back taxes already.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew on the legal battles facing Hunter Biden, including a contempt of Congress charge.