LOS ANGELES - US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, on Jan 11 pleaded not guilty to tax charges stemming from business dealings that have also prompted an impeachment probe of his father.

Hunter Biden, 53, stands criminally accused of failing to pay US$1.4 million (S$1.86 million) in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items.

He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.

Wearing a navy-blue suit and tie in federal court in Los Angeles, he responded “not guilty” when US District Judge Mark Scarsi asked how he would plead in the case.

Justice Scarsi set a trial date of June 20.

The younger Mr Biden did not address news crews or protesters waiting outside the courthouse after the hearing. A federal motorcade left the building via a rear exit.

Mr Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has said his client had paid his back taxes and is being persecuted because of his famous last name.

The President’s son, who has publicly discussed his substance abuse, has never held a position in the White House or on his father’s campaign.

He has also pleaded not guilty in a separate federal case in Delaware in which he is charged with lying about his illegal drug use when he bought a gun. Those charges carry up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Both cases were brought by federal prosecutor David Weiss, who has been investigating him since 2019 and was last year elevated to the status of special prosecutor. A federal judge rejected a proposed plea deal last summer. The Justice Department has said the investigation into Hunter Biden is ongoing.

Republicans in the US House of Representatives are pushing to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify behind closed doors in their impeachment inquiry of his father. That has the potential to trigger more criminal charges.

The younger Biden has offered to testify in public in the probe, but lawmakers rebuffed him. He caused a ruckus on Capitol Hill on Jan 10 when he unexpectedly showed up at a House hearing where lawmakers were considering the contempt charges.

Republican investigators have focused on Hunter Biden’s work for businesses in Ukraine and China while his father served as US vice-president from 2009 to 2017. So far, they have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the elder Biden, even as they have highlighted his son’s struggles with substance abuse.

In the tax case, prosecutors have said he earned more than US$7 million between 2016 and 2019, including US$2.3 million from his position on the board of directors of Burisma, a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate. He also served on the board of CEFC China Energy Co Ltd, a Chinese energy conglomerate.

A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Jan 10 found that 44 per cent of American adults think the prosecution of Hunter Biden is politically motivated, while 33 per cent do not. At the same time, 56 per cent think he is receiving favourable treatment from prosecutors. REUTERS