Hunter Biden, son of United States President Joe Biden, has pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion, as his lawyers seek a speedy resolution to the election-year case.
At a federal courthouse in Los Angeles on Thursday, defence lawyer Abbe Lowell told the judge that Biden would change his plea from “not guilty” on all nine counts he faces.
“There is overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt,” Lowell told the judge. “This can be resolved today. It’s not a complicated issue.”
Standing in the courtroom, Biden said the word “guilty” as each of the nine counts were read aloud. The change comes on the same day as jury selection was scheduled to begin in the case.
By pleading guilty, Biden dodges a lengthy court trial. He faces a sentence of up to 17 years in prison and fines of up to $450,000.
The guilty plea related felony and misdemeanor charges Biden faced for failing to pay at least $1.4m in taxes at a time when he enjoyed a lucrative income from foreign business activities.
The indictment alleges he spent large sums “on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature”, while failing to pay taxes from 2016 through 2019.
The wayward behaviour of the president’s son, who has long struggled with substance abuse issues, has become a favourite source of criticism among right-wing lawmakers. Hunter Biden is also facing potential prison time after a jury convicted him of felony gun charges in a separate case in June.
Without Thursday’s guilty plea, the charges would have likely sparked a protracted trial, during which the details about Hunter Biden’s personal life and business dealings could come under heightened scrutiny.
Biden’s criminal trials are also unfolding against the backdrop of the 2024 presidential election.
His father, President Biden, was previously the Democratic candidate for the presidency, before dropping out of the race in July amid concerns about his age. He has since been replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris atop the Democratic ticket.
Republicans have accused the younger Biden of using his father’s role in politics to negotiate lucrative business opportunities, including with the Ukrainian energy sector.
Hunter Biden, however, has denied leveraging his father’s position or engaging in illegal business dealings.
Right-wing lawmakers have also pushed unsubstantiated claims that the president’s son was part of a crime syndicate operated on behalf of his father.
Hunter had previously agreed to a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, in which he would have pled guilty to misdemeanour tax offences in exchange for avoiding prosecution in the gun case.
But that deal fell apart in July of last year after a judge questioned aspects of the agreement, and Biden submitted a not guilty plea to the tax-related charges.
Earlier on Thursday, the defence team floated the idea of Biden offering an Alford plea, a kind of guilty plea in which the defendant accepts the court’s judgement but maintains their innocence.
But Alford pleas are usually negotiated in advance with prosecutors. Presented with the option in court, lawyers for the US Justice Department dismissed the prospect outright.
“Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” federal prosecutor Leo Wise told the court.
