What to know about Trump-appointed judge in Hunter Biden tax case
Mark Scarsi, a U.S. district court judge, has been assigned to the case involving a federal indictment against President Biden’s son Hunter Biden.
Scarsi is based in the Central District of California and oversees Los Angeles. He was nominated by former President Trump.
Trump announced his intent to nominate Scarsi in 2018. Trump nominated him later that year to fill retired Judge George H. King’s seat. The Senate returned Trump’s nomination in 2019 under Paragraph 6 of Standing Senate Rule XXXI, which states that if final action has not been taken before Congress adjourns, the nomination is returned.
The former president renominated Scarsi, and the Senate again returned the nomination. His nomination was confirmed in an 83-12 vote in September 2020.
Scarsi was born in Syracuse, N.Y., but now resides in Pasadena, Calif. He attended Syracuse University for his bachelor’s and master’s in computer science before going to law school at Georgetown University, according to information he provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee, first reported by NBC News.
He was admitted to the bar in California in 1996 and in New York in 1998. He worked in a private practice at various California firms before he was appointed to the district court. His legal practice focused on intellectual property. He became a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association in 1998.
“My practice is focused on civil litigation with an emphasis on intellectual property matters. I have substantial courtroom experience in a variety of federal district courts, including the federal district courts in California, New York, Delaware and Texas,” Scarsi wrote to the committee.
He said his typical clients were Fortune 100 companies like Apple, Google and Lockheed Martin.
Scarsi is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association and joined the Federalist Society in 2017, his filing to the committee said.
Scarsi was chosen randomly to oversee the new charges against Hunter Biden. Biden was charged with tax crimes on Thursday, his second indictment from special counsel David Weiss.
Biden faces three felony tax charges in relation to tax evasion and filing a false return and six misdemeanor charges for failure to pay taxes between 2016 and 2019. According to the indictment, Biden engaged in a four-year scheme where he failed to pay $1.4 million in federal taxes he owed.
Biden allegedly subverted the payroll and tax withholding processing for his own company by withdrawing millions outside the payroll. He spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills, a statement from Weiss said.
“Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature,” prosecutors wrote.
Biden said Republicans are trying to kill him to destroy his father’s presidency. His lawyer Abbe Lowell said his two indictments would not have been brought “if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden.”
His charges carry a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison upon conviction.
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