Los Angeles. Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, on Thursday proposed to plead guilty in a tax evasion trial in California, a last-minute attempt to stop the process.
As the jury was about to be selected in the case, the defense announced that Hunter, 54, was prepared to plead guilty even if it meant a conviction. Judge Mark Scarsi called a recess in the hearing so prosecutors could discuss the offer.
Hunter is accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes over the past decade, instead spending his money on a life of luxury that included sex workers and drug addiction.
Biden already faced another trial this year in the state of Delaware, where he was found guilty of lying about his drug use to acquire a firearm.
The case brought into focus Biden’s extravagant lifestyle, the collapse of his marriage and his heavy crack use.
A Los Angeles court was preparing to select a jury that will hear sordid details of his private life, about which his family, including the president, has long been aware.
“They want to smear him because that’s the only purpose,” Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, reportedly said during an August hearing in which he accused prosecutors of attempting “moral murder.”
“Preferential treatment”
His defense argues that the tax evasion was an oversight amid a chaotic life, due to drug addiction and the trauma of losing his brother Beau, who died of a brain tumor in 2015.
But Hunter Biden has since paid his taxes, as well as fines, and reached an agreement with the courts to avoid jail, although the agreement failed at the last minute.
Since then, Biden has been believed to be trying to finalize another agreement, which is expected to happen on Thursday.
The scenario is expected to be difficult for prosecutors, under scrutiny from members of the Republican Party, who are seeking to determine that the president’s son is receiving preferential treatment.
Special prosecutor David Weiss is still looking for evidence proving tax evasion. Hunter Biden could face up to 17 years in prison for these crimes.
If the trial continues, opening statements are scheduled for Monday.
Target of opponents
Hunter Biden has been a frequent target of his father’s opponents, who have tried – without evidence – to portray the family as a group of criminals who gained power and wealth thanks to the current president’s political career.
Although Joe Biden’s decision not to continue in the race for re-election has caused the controversy over his son to fade, now that Republicans have to face Vice President Kamala Harris.
The president’s son was found guilty in June in a trial in Delaware of lying when buying a gun and is awaiting the announcement of his sentence, which could lead to a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Hunter Biden, a Yale-trained lawyer turned painter who lives in coastal Malibu, says he quit drugs and alcohol in 2019.
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– 2024-09-10 16:00:24
