Joe Biden’s Son Hunter Biden Tax Case: Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to all nine charges in his federal tax case on Thursday. District Judge Mark Scarsi in Los Angeles accepted his plea, according to CNN.
Sentencing is set for December 16, notably after the November presidential election.
Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to several charges: one count of felony tax evasion, two counts of filing fraudulent tax returns (felonies), four misdemeanor counts for failing to pay taxes, and two misdemeanor counts for failing to file tax returns, as reported by CNN.
The guilty plea followed a lengthy, complicated hearing on the day his trial was set to begin with jury selection in Los Angeles. Around 120 potential jurors waited in a sequestered assembly room as prosecutors and Biden’s lawyers negotiated in court on how to move forward.
Biden pleaded guilty to a federal charge without a pre-arranged deal with prosecutors, a rare move for a high-profile defendant. His original plan was to offer an “Alford plea,” which would have maintained his innocence, but after prosecutors objected, his team withdrew the proposal and the judge suggested reconvening the next morning. Instead, Biden chose an “open plea,” taking full responsibility for his actions without a guaranteed sentence reduction.
“We were as shocked as everyone else in the courtroom this morning,” prosecutor Leo Wise said.
However, in a surprising turn of events on Thursday afternoon, Biden’s legal team shifted their approach and announced that he would enter an “open plea,” admitting that his actions met the criteria for the tax offenses he was charged with.
Under oath in federal court in Los Angeles, Biden stated that no one had made any promises to persuade him to plead guilty in his tax case. He also confirmed that he had not been pressured into pleading guilty in any way. During the plea proceeding, which lasted nearly 90 minutes, prosecutors read the entire 56-page indictment. Following this, Judge Scarsi asked Hunter Biden the standard questions required in every plea deal.
“Do you agree that you committed every element of every crime?” Scarsi asked, to which Hunder Biden responded “Yes.”
The tax case was resolved just as it was about to go to trial in downtown Los Angeles, which would have marked Hunter Biden’s second criminal trial this year. Earlier in June, he was convicted on three federal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware. Prosecutors alleged that Biden had evaded taxes by filing tax returns with fraudulent business deductions and failed to pay $1.4 million in federal taxes, as reported by CNN.
After becoming aware of the investigation and overcoming a long battle with drug addiction and alcoholism, the president’s son eventually paid approximately $2 million in back taxes and penalties.