By Jack Queen
(Reuters) - President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden is set to stand trial in Los Angeles on Thursday in a criminal case accusing him of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes while spending lavishly on drugs, sex workers and luxury items.
Biden has pleaded not guilty. He was charged in December as part of a wide-ranging probe of his finances and business dealings, becoming the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges.
The trial in Los Angeles federal court follows the younger Biden’s June trial conviction in Delaware for illegally buying a gun while using drugs, which he is appealing.
That conviction means he could face a stiffer sentence if convicted in the tax case because he would be a repeat offender.
The tax evasion trial before Judge Mark Scarsi will begin with jury selection on Thursday and is expected to last two to three weeks.
Biden is charged with three felony and six misdemeanor counts for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019 while spending huge sums "on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature,” according to an indictment.
The trial could shed light on Biden’s work with a Ukrainian natural gas company and his other business dealings while his father was vice president, which the president's Republican foes have claimed were corrupt.
The indictment says Hunter Biden "earned handsomely" while serving on the boards of Burisma, a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate, and a Chinese private equity fund.
The younger Biden has denied any improper business dealings, and Republican-led investigations in Congress have not directly implicated his father in any wrongdoing.
Biden is set to be sentenced in the gun case on Nov. 13. President Biden has said he will not pardon his son.