The US president’s son reportedly wishes to skip a potentially damaging federal trial
Lawyers for US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter have told a federal court that he is prepared to plead guilty to charges of tax evasion, eliminating the need for a trial.
Hunter Biden was indicted last December on nine charges of tax evasion, while spending millions “on an extravagant lifestyle” involving drugs, “escorts and girlfriends,” exotic cars and other personal expenses. He originally pleaded not guilty.
“Mr. Biden intends to change his plea this morning,” his lawyer Abbe Lowell told the federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday, just as jury selection was about to start.
According to Lowell, Biden wanted to submit an Alford plea, accepting a guilty verdict while maintaining he did nothing wrong. Prosecutors said it was the first time they were hearing of this and the court then went into recess.
Charges against Biden include three felonies and six misdemeanors, including tax evasion, failure to pay, failure to file, and filing a false return.
According to prosecutors, the sitting president’s son “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019,” spending “millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.”
