Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty to Nine Tax Offenses
Hunter Biden, son of US Pres. Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to all nine of his federal tax offenses on Thursday — a last-minute change of heart that came as a federal court in Los Angeles prepared for jury selection in his case....
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Facts
- Hunter Biden, son of US Pres. Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to all nine of his federal tax offenses on Thursday — a last-minute change of heart that came as a federal court in Los Angeles prepared for jury selection in his case.[1]
- Biden stood accused of felony charges of tax evasion, filing a false personal tax return, and filing a false corporate tax return, in addition to six misdemeanor charges for failing to pay $1.4M in taxes between 2016 and 2019.[2]
- Had this case proceeded to trial, prosecutors were likely to argue that Biden's spending on escorts, drugs, and exotic cars contributed to his failure to pay taxes. Evidence of such a lifestyle had already started to come to light at a separate trial in Delaware in June, where Biden was ultimately convicted on three felony gun charges.[3]
- In this latest case, had it proceeded, the court would have likely also been presented with fresh evidence of Biden's foreign business dealings, including with Ukrainian firm Burisma Holdings Limited. House Republicans have sought to assert, so far unsuccessfully, that Pres. Biden benefited from his son's business arrangements.[2]
- In a statement from the younger Biden after pleading guilty to nine offenses Thursday, he said: 'I went to trial in Delaware not realizing the anguish it would cause my family, and I will not put them through it again.'[4]
- He added: 'I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment... so I have decided to plead guilty.' Scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16, Biden faces up to 17 years behind bars and a $500K to $1M sanction.[4][5]
Sources: [1]CNN, [2]Forbes, [3]Associated Press, [4]FOX News and [5]BBC News.
Narratives
- Democratic narrative, as provided by Associated Press. Now that Pres. Biden has pulled himself out of the presidential race, the consequences of additional criminal convictions for his son have less political weight. However, a new trial would have been damaging to the Bidens in other ways. In that respect, Hunter Biden did the right thing.
- Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post. There was never any question of whether Hunter Biden was guilty of these crimes. Now, after dragging his family through the whole ordeal, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty at the latest possible stage, likely in the hopes of still being pardoned by his father in the last months of his presidency.
