Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to federal tax charges, avoiding a trial that could have been politically damaging ahead of the US presidential election, Reuters reports.
He admitted to failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019, a period during which he was reportedly struggling with drug addiction and spending lavishly on personal indulgences, including drugs, sex workers, luxury goods, and properties. Biden’s legal team had previously tried to secure an “Alford plea,” in which the defendant pleads guilty while not admitting actual wrongdoing, but prosecutors rejected this request. Biden ultimately pleaded guilty to all nine counts against him, without any prior plea agreement with prosecutors. He faces up to 17 years in prison and a $450,000 fine, with sentencing set for December.
Biden stated that his decision to plead guilty was motivated by a desire to spare his family the ordeal of a trial and expressed regret for the pain he had caused his family due to his struggles with drug addiction. His lawyer indicated that Biden had already repaid the taxes he owed and suggested that Biden might appeal the eventual sentence.
The plea avoids a potentially damaging trial that could have revealed details about his business dealings, particularly his work with Ukrainian energy company Burisma and a Chinese private equity fund, and exposed messy personal details about his life.
