A California judge has granted Hallie Biden immunity to testify against Hunter Biden in his upcoming criminal tax trial next month.
Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden and ex of Hunter Biden, previously indicated to prosecutors that she would be unwilling to testify at the trial that begins Sept. 5 “based on her privilege against self-incrimination,” according to a court filing obtained by Fox News.
Biden is accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 and filing false tax returns. He allegedly used the funds to live lavishly, including spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, luxury cars and other high-priced items.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi wrote this week that “Hallie Biden is ordered…to provide testimony or other information that he refuses to give or provide based on his privilege against self-incrimination regarding all matters about which he may be questioned in the course of these proceedings.”
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Hallie Biden, daughter-in-law of President Biden, departs the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building after testifying in the Hunter Biden gun trial on June 6, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“It is further ordered that no testimony or other information required under this order, or any information derived directly or indirectly from such testimony or information, shall be used against Hallie Biden in any criminal case, except that she shall not be exempt by this order from prosecution for perjury, making a false statement, or otherwise failing to comply with this order,” it added.
Hallie Biden testified against Hunter under the same immunity agreement during his federal gun trial in Delaware earlier this year, according to the Washington Examiner.
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Hunter Biden was found guilty on all counts by a Delaware jury in his federal gun trial. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He is charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors in the California tax case.
The trial was initially scheduled to begin on June 20, but Scarsi, who is presiding over the case, agreed to Hunter Biden's request to delay the trial.
President Biden, left, and Hunter Biden, right, are pictured during the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, April 1, 2024. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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In June, Hunter Biden was convicted by a federal jury in Delaware of lying about his illegal drug use while filling out a form to purchase a gun.
Fox News' Louis Casiano and David Spunt contributed to this report.
