Hunter Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, was indicted in California Thursday on nine charges of tax evasion. The investigation by a special prosecutor into the business dealings and the son of Biden intensifies as the 2024 elections approach.

Hunter Biden was also charged with federal firearms offenses in Delaware in 2018 for violating laws that prohibited drug users from owning guns. The new charges come after the failure of a summer plea agreement that would have saved him from jail, and put the case on the track to a trial while his father campaigns for election.

David Weiss, special counsel for the IRS, said in a press release that Hunter Biden had “spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle instead of paying his tax bills.” The charges center on the at least $1.4m in taxes Hunter Biden was liable for between 2016 and 2019. During this time, he admitted to struggling with addiction. Back taxes were paid.

Hunter Biden (53), if convicted, could face a maximum 17-year prison sentence. Weiss stated that the special counsel investigation remains open.

1776 Coalition Sponsored It’s Back to the Future 5 years later & AOC is still beating her antisemitic, anti-Israel drum. Unfortunately, her influence is only growing, and the media is happy to give her a bullhorn anytime she wants one. If you’ve had enough of AOC, then help us start the efforts to remove her from Congress early so we succeed! It’s time to Protect American Values!

Abbe Lowell, a defense lawyer, accused Weiss in a fiery reply of “bowing down to Republican pressure” on the case.

Lowell stated that if Hunter had a different last name than Biden the charges would not have been filed in Delaware and California.

The White House refused to comment on the indictment of Hunter Biden, and referred questions to Hunter Biden’s personal representatives or the Justice Department.

In the charging documents, filed in California where he lives and works, Leo Wise detailed spending on everything from strippers and drugs to luxury hotels and exotic vehicles. “In short, everything except his taxes,” Wise wrote.

The indictment is being brought as the congressional Republicans continue their impeachment investigation into President Biden. They claim that he engaged in a scheme of influence peddling with his son. Next week, the House will vote on whether to formally authorize the investigation.

There is no evidence that Joe Biden abused his position or took bribes in any of his previous or current offices, but there are questions about the ethics of the Biden family business.

Hunter Biden’s separate and long-running criminal case was expected to end with a plea agreement where he would get two years probation for pleading guilty on misdemeanor charges of tax, but he could avoid prosecution if he avoided trouble.

Republicans, including the former president Donald Trump, slammed the agreement as a “sweetheart bargain”. He faces his own criminal charges, including allegations that he planned to overturn the election results for 2020.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of House Oversight Committee credited the new accusations to two IRS agents who testified in Congress that the Justice Department mishandled the investigation and “slowly walked” it. Justice officials deny those allegations.

Gary Shapley, Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley, two IRS employees said that the indictment “completely vindicated our thorough investigation.”

Hunter Biden is now facing new charges, including filing a false tax return and tax fraud felonies as well as misdemeanors for failure to file a return and failure to pay.

The defense has indicated that it intends to fight against the new charges. It is likely to rely at least partially on immunity provisions in the original plea agreement. Defense attorneys claim that immunity provisions remain in effect since a prosecutor signed the agreement before it was scrapped.

The prosecution disagrees, saying that the documents were not signed by a court judge and therefore invalid.

Lowell also said that he plans to ask for the dismissal of gun charges in court next week. He called them “unprecedented” and “unconstitutional.”

Hunter Biden is accused of lying about his drug use in three federal charges filed in Delaware. The gun he bought and kept for 11 consecutive days was purchased in 2018. The federal law prohibits “habitual” drug users from possessing guns, but the measure is rarely seen as an individual charge. A federal appeals court has questioned this measure.

Hunter Biden’s struggle with addiction worsened following the death of Beau Biden, in 2015. According to court documents and “Beautiful Things,” his memoir that ends in 2019, he finally got clean.

Prosecutors said that his gross income between 2016 and 2020 was $7 million. They cited his positions on the boards of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company, and a Chinese Private Equity Fund, as well as a position in a law office.

Hunter eventually filed his taxes in 2020 while facing a child support case in Arkansas. The back taxes were paid to him by “a third party”, according to court documents.