Biden’s son pleads guilty to $1.4m tax charges, faces up to 17 years in prison

Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, unexpectedly pleaded guilty to federal tax charges on Thursday, avoiding a trial that could have caused embarrassment ahead of the US presidential election.

Hunter was originally scheduled to be tried in a Los Angeles federal court for criminal charges, which included failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes while spending heavily on drugs, sex workers, and luxury items. Instead, he admitted guilt to all nine counts.

Judge Mark Scarsi informed Biden that he could face up to 17 years in prison and fines amounting to $450,000, with sentencing set for December 16. Typically, defendants who plead guilty have a prior agreement with prosecutors to reduce their sentence, but this did not seem to apply here. Earlier that day, Biden had proposed an "Alford plea" — a legal option where a defendant pleads guilty without admitting wrongdoing — which prosecutors rejected.

After a brief pause, Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, confirmed that his client would plead guilty without any arrangement in place to ease his sentence.

Following the hearing, Biden stated that he pleaded guilty to spare his family from enduring a trial that would have revealed difficult details from a period when he was battling drug addiction. He added that he had since repaid his taxes. Lowell mentioned that Biden might appeal the sentence, but did not explain why the plea was entered on the trial’s opening day.

Biden's guilty plea prevented a trial that would have occurred during a highly sensitive time, just weeks before the presidential election on 5 November. President Joe Biden had earlier withdrawn from his re-election campaign, under pressure from fellow Democrats, leaving voters to choose between Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump.

Hunter Biden has openly discussed his struggles with addiction and was charged with failing to pay taxes from 2016 to 2019 while spending substantial amounts on drugs, escorts, luxury properties, and other personal expenses. The trial could have further examined his role with Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company, and other business ventures conducted while his father was vice president. Republicans have claimed that these activities were corrupt, although investigations by Congress have not directly implicated Joe Biden.

The indictment highlighted that Hunter Biden earned significant sums while serving on the boards of Burisma and a Chinese private equity firm. However, he has denied any misconduct in his business dealings. Separately, he is appealing a guilty verdict in Delaware for illegally purchasing a firearm while using drugs, which could lead to a harsher sentence in the tax case due to his status as a repeat offender. The White House has stated that President Biden will not pardon his son.