Hunter Biden to be arraigned in tax evasion case

Hunter Biden faces three felony and six misdemeanor counts as federal prosecutors say he tried to evade paying taxes.

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, will appear in a Los Angeles courtroom as he faces three felony and six misdemeanor counts, including filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file and failure to pay. Prosecutors say he spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills. 

The case has drawn widespread attention as Republicans have sought to tie the allegations to the president. The White House has denied allegations of wrongdoing by the president. 

But Republicans on Capitol Hill have used the case against Hunter Biden to conduct an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. 

On Wednesday, two separate House committees voted to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after he refused to give testimony behind closed doors. Biden has said he would be willing to provide testimony, but only in public. 

The Department of Justice claims that Biden stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015 and willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes. The Department of Justice also alleges that when  Biden finally filed his 2018 returns, it included false business deductions to reduce the tax liability he faced as of February 2020.