Hunter Biden appears to be headed for a criminal trial on June 20 despite efforts by his legal team to dismiss the tax evasion prosecution as politically motivated, a U.S. district court judge, Mark Scarsi, has ruled.

Judge Scarsi on Monday rejected all eight of Mr. Biden’s motions to dismiss the nine federal tax charges from the special counsel, David Weiss. The president’s son “offers only conjecture about animus motivating the prosecutorial decisions in this case,” Judge Scarsi asserted, and fails to provide “clear evidence” of discriminatory intent by prosecutors.

The ruling throws a wrench into claims made by Mr. Biden’s counsel at a hearing last week that the charges against him were part of “a juicy timeline” of politically motivated prosecution. This was his latest attempt at dodging trial after a plea agreement to avoid charges fell apart last year. Now, Mr. Biden will likely go on trial beginning June 20, the tentative start date Judge Scarsi had previously set. If convicted, he faces up to 17 years in prison. 

“No facts” suggest the government pursued the charges due to public statements by politicians, Judge Scarsi wrote, “let alone based on Defendant’s familial and political affiliations.” He noted that the prosecution came at the request of House Republicans, as Mr. Biden’s team pointed out, “But politicians take credit for many things over which they have no power and have made no impact … just because someone says they influenced a prosecutorial decision does not mean that they did.”

In December, prosecutors charged Mr. Biden with felonies and misdemeanors related to allegations that he engaged in a “four-year scheme” to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes while earning more than $7 million in gross income between 2016 and 2019. They say he evaded taxes by classifying as business deductions some of his personal expenditures — including luxury hotel stays, vehicle rentals, and escort services as part of his “extravagant lifestyle.”

Prosecutors also say Mr. Biden illegally took a tax deduction on a $300,000 tuition payment to Columbia Law School for his daughter, Naomi, who would go on to live in the White House while working for a white shoe Washington law firm.

Mr. Biden has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His team says he did pay off his tax debt with penalties and interest, though not until 2021. They argued that he was struggling with debilitating drug addiction during the period in question, in which prosecutors say he  “performed very little actual work.”

Mr. Biden’s team seems likely to appeal Judge Scarsi’s rulings. “We strongly disagree with the court’s decision and will continue to vigorously pursue Mr. Biden’s challenges to the abnormal way the special counsel handled this investigation and charged this case,” the lead defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement after the judge’s decision.

Mr. Biden is also facing federal charges in connection to his purchase of a firearm in Delaware, which is illegal for him, a user of controlled substances, to possess. Mr. Biden’s team has filed a series of motions to dismiss that case as well. If the judge overseeing it, Maryellen Noreika, rules the same way as Judge Scarsi, the Delaware trial will likely begin before the California one, on June 3.

Despite facing two felony criminal trials, Mr. Biden fils was a prominent attendee at Monday’s White House Easter egg roll, where he wore a purple tie and greeted children, alongside his father.