Hunter Biden, the scandal-plagued son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to federal misdemeanor tax evasion charges, in a deal that will likely allow him to avoid jail time, according to a court filing and news reports.
Biden, 53, also agreed to enter into a diversion agreement on a separate charge of lying on a background check form while buying a handgun in 2018 by claiming he didn’t use drugs, when he was, in fact, addicted to crack cocaine, according to the court papers, filed in federal court in Delaware.
The deal with federal prosecutors, which still needs to be approved by a judge, heads off a potentially politically distracting prosecution as President Biden begins his reelection campaign next year.
The agreement brings to a close an investigation dating back to 2018, when Donald Trump was president, into Biden’s tax filings.
Biden is expected to formally enter a guilty plea in court at a hearing for which a date has yet to be set. According to several news reports, citing law enforcement sources, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, who was appointed by President Trump, plans to request a sentence of probation on the tax charges.
The diversion agreement on the gun matter means that Biden will not plead guilty to that charge and will not face jail time as long as he stays drug-free for two years. He will also be barred from ever owning a gun.
According to the documents filed Tuesday, Biden will admit to wilfully failing to pay taxes on income exceeding $1.5 million in both 2017 and 2018 and lying on the background form for the 2018 gun purchase when he was battling drug addiction.
In a statement, a lawyer for Biden, Christopher Clark, said his client was prepared to take responsibility for his actions.
“With the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved,” Clark said. “Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments when due pursuant to a plea agreement.”
“I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward,” Clark added.
The White House said in a statement that “the president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”
Former President Trump, who was indicted last week on federal espionage charges for allegedly refusing to return classified documents he took with him when he left office, blasted the Department of Justice’s agreement with the younger Biden.
“Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere “traffic ticket,′ ” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “Our system is BROKEN!”.
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