Hunter Biden enters surprise guilty plea to avoid tax trial months after his gun conviction

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to federal tax charges Thursday in a surprise move that allows President Joe Biden’s family to avoid having to endure another likely embarrassing and painful criminal trial of the president’s son.

His stunning decision to guilty plea to misdemeanor and felony charges without the benefits of a deal with prosecutors came hours after jury selection was supposed to begin in the case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes.

The president’s son was already facing potential prison time after his June conviction in a trial that aired unflattering and salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction.

While President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential election lessened the potential political implications of the tax case, the trial was expected to carry a heavy emotional toll for the president in the final months of his five-decade long political career.

More than 100 potential jurors had been brought to the courthouse to begin the process of picking the panel that would decide whether he’s guilty of misdemeanor and felony charges over what prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while pulling in millions of dollars from foreign business entities.

But defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the judge that the evidence against Hunter Biden was “overwhelming” and that the president’s son wanted to resolve the case with what’s referred to as an Alford plea, under which a defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction.

A prosecutor urged U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi to reject the proposed plea, saying that Hunter Biden “is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.”

“Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” prosecutor Leo Wise said.

Wise said it wasn’t sufficient for Biden to acknowledge that the government had enough evidence to prove him guilty and wanted him to acknowledge the facts laid out in the indictment are true.