Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, formally pleaded guilty Thursday in a Los Angeles court to tax fraud, an unexpected development that means he will not face a new trial — which could embarrass the White House and the Democrats, in the midst of an election season—, following his conviction in June in a separate case.
Judge Mark Scarci, who had been assigned to the case, whose trial was due to begin yesterday, set the defendant’s sentencing on December 16.
Hunter Biden faces up to 17 years in prison and a fine of nearly half a million dollars.
Two months before the presidential election, the president’s son pleaded guilty to all 9 charges against him.
He spent recklessly on drugs, sex and luxuries
The charges involved failing to pay $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019, while spending recklessly on drugs, sex and luxury goods.
Typically, defendants who plead guilty in federal trials have cut deals with prosecutors in advance to secure lower sentences. In this particular case, however, it does not seem that an agreement was reached.
Earlier yesterday, Hunter Biden’s defense offered to plead guilty but not admit wrongdoing, a move prosecutors immediately rejected. “It is not clear to us what exactly they are trying to achieve” the advocates of the president’s son, a prosecutor official said at the headquarters.
A trial could give Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump plenty of ammunition by putting Hunter Biden’s life under the microscope.
The Nov. 5 presidential election pits Mr. Trump against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. The latter emerged as a candidate after President Biden announced that he was abandoning the campaign for his re-election in July, under pressure from officials of his faction.
Addicted to drugs and alcohol
Hunter Biden has publicly admitted that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Should he stand trial in the case, details of his time on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma while his father was vice chairman and his other business dealings, notably with a China investment fund, could come to light. Republican opponents of President Biden accuse his son — and himself — of corrupt practices.
Hunter Biden denies any wrongdoing in his business dealings. Investigations in the US Congress have not, so far, implicated the president.
Lawyers for the son of the head of state have appealed after he was convicted in another case, in Delaware, involving the illegal purchase of a gun while on drugs.
This conviction meant that he faced an even heavier sentence if he was tried and convicted in the tax case, as he now has a criminal record.
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