Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to federal tax charges on Thursday. This surprise move avoids a potentially embarrassing trial weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
Biden had been set to stand trial in a LA federal courthouse on criminal charges. He was charged for failure to pay $1.4 million in taxes, while spending lavishly on drugs, sex workers and luxury items.
Instead, he pleaded guilty to all nine counts he faced.
Judge Mark Scarsi told Biden he faces up to 17 years in prison and up to $450,000 in penalties. He set sentencing for Dec. 16.
Defendants who plead guilty in criminal cases typically work out an agreement with prosecutors beforehand, hoping to receive a lower sentence in exchange for avoiding trial.
That did not appear to be the case here.
Alford Plea
Earlier in the day, Biden had offered to plead guilty to the charges but avoid admitting wrongdoing. This is an unusual legal maneuver called an “Alford plea.” Prosecutors opposed that move.
After a break, Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell told the judge that he would plead guilty. However, there was no prior agreement with prosecutors that would ease his sentence.
In a statement after the hearing, Biden said he pleaded guilty to spare his family from sitting through details from when he suffered drug addiction. “For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this,” he said. He added that he had paid back his taxes.
Lowell told reporters afterward that Biden might appeal his sentence. He did not answer when asked why Biden waited until the trial’s opening day to plead guilty.
The guilty plea heads off a weeks-long trial that would have taken place at the height of the election campaign.
Presidential Elections
Voters will choose on Nov. 5 between Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and Republican former President Donald Trump. Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid in July under pressure from his fellow Democrats.
Hunter Biden is also appealing a guilty verdict in a separate case in Delaware for illegally buying a gun while using drugs.
That conviction means he could face a stiffer sentence for the tax case if convicted, because he would be a repeat offender.
The White House has said President Biden has ruled out pardoning his son.
(with inputs from Reuters)
