By Dan Whitcomb
(Reuters) - A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday rejected a string of motions filed by U.S. President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, to dismiss tax charges filed against him, court documents show.
Among the claims that U.S. District Judge Marc Scarsi rejected in eight separate motions were that federal prosecutors caved to pressure from Republicans or that Hunter Biden, 54, had immunity from a previous plea deal he had negotiated.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while allegedly spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other big-ticket items.
The trial is due to start in June, a few months before Americans vote in a November presidential election that looks set to be a close and deeply divisive contest between Joe Biden, himself the subject of an impeachment probe, and Donald Trump, who faces four criminal trials.
Hunter Biden, the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges, also faces a separate criminal case in federal court in Delaware over his alleged purchase of a handgun while he was using illegal drugs.
He has pleaded not guilty and made similar arguments to dismiss the charges in that case.