Hunter Biden, son of United States President Joe Biden, offered a guilty plea to charges in his federal tax evasion case on Thursday (Sep 5) just as jury selection was about to begin. The plea, if accepted, would allow Hunter to maintain his innocence but he will have to accept punishment.
Hunter has been involved in the lengthy case where he pleaded not guilty in January this year after the collapse of a previous ‘sweetheart deal’.
Hunter’s counsel said the US president’s son was prepared to enter the plea. “I think this can be resolved today,” Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell informed.
US District Judge Mark Scarsi, sitting in Los Angeles, called a recess to allow prosecutors to discuss the move.
If the agreement is reached, Hunter would plead guilty to some charges in exchange for the other charges being dropped. The trial, scheduled to start next month, may unravel salacious details about Hunter’s partying and spending during the peak of his addiction. However, the ‘plead guilty’ deal may allow him to avoid the ugliness.
The charges include nine felony and misdemeanour tax offences. Federal prosecutors have claimed that Hunter avoided $1.4 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by executing a tax evasion scheme.
The prosecutors allege that the money was used to fund Hunter’s extravagant lifestyle. Hunter has previously admitted to struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.
The investigation began in 2018 when Special Counsel David Weiss was the former President Donald Trump-appointed US attorney for Delaware. Weiss closely scrutinised Hunter’s finances, his business deals, gun purchases, and potential violations of lobbying laws and managed to build a strong case.
However, all seemed to be heading down a hunky-dory ending last year when parties announced a plea deal. Under the deal, Hunter would have admitted to two tax misdemeanours, resolved the gun matter and likely avoided jail time. But the deal imploded under scrutiny from a judge.
Hunter’s defence team has consistently argued that the non-payment of taxes was an oversight in a life wrought chaos by a spiralling drug addiction.
Notably, Hunter has already spent the majority of 2024 in courtrooms – having been convicted of lying about his drug use when he bought a gun.
(With inputs from agencies)