Hunter Biden enters shock guilty plea in $1.4M tax evasion case, first son facing up to 17 years in prison
LOS ANGELES — He’s the first son — and twice 🏅convicted.
For the second time in three months, Hunter Biden was convicted of federal charges after he unexpectedly copped ꦐto dodging $1.4 million in tax🅘es Thursday, the day jury selection was supposed to begin in the case.
The budding artist, who was found guilty on felony gun raps in June, entered the shock plea to all nine charges against him in order to avoid yet another embarrassing trial that would’ve centered on his penchan💧t for strippers, pornography, luxury hꦬotels and exotic cars.
“I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment,” Hunter Biden said in a statement. “For all I h𒈔ave put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty.”
Biden, who breezed into Los Angeles federal court with his wife Melissa Cohen, still faces up to 17 years behind bars in this case — his guilty plea was not part of an agreement with prosecutors. He also could see up to 25 years on the gun raps, though he is expected to get far less in both🀅 cases.
LA prosecut🥂ors had said they🐓 planned to introduce evidence that Biden blew cash on strippers and porn — all while avoiding paying taxes from 2016 through 2019.
Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell blindsided the feds𒅌 early Thursday morning when he told Judge Mark Scarsi that the Biden scion intended on entering an Alford plea — a little-known technicality that would’ve allowed him to plead gu🧔ilty but maintain his innocence.
But prosecutors with special counsel David Weiss’ team balked at the move, saying they had a mountain of evidence against Biden and that he “is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that♈ apply only to him.”
“Hunter Biden is not innoꦇcent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” proꦓsecutor Leo Wise said.
Even Lowell admitted that there was “overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt” as he begged Scarsi to resolve the ca🔯se.
“This has been a difficult moment for him and especially his family,” Lowell said.
“He and his family don’tꦕ want to spend one more day on a period when he was addicted to drugs💯.”
Lowell also noted the prജevious gun case had cost prosecutors more than♏ $3.8 million.
“Enough is enough,” the lawyer added.
After hours of he🍎arings — including a 90-minute reading of t♔he entire indictment against him — and several breaks, Scarsi finally allowed Biden to enter a standard guilty plea.
“Do yo♍u agree you co🌱mmitted every element of every crime in the indictment?” Scarsi asked.
“Yes,” Hunter responded, before sayi♍ng “guilty” when asked how he pleaded to each c🃏harge.
He will be se🐷ntenced on Dec. 16, more than a month aft﷽er the presidential election.
Thursday was the latest twist in Biden’s legal drama, which has🃏 overshadowed President Biden’s political career — he blew up a sweetheart plea deal in June 2023 in a related federal tax and gun casওe in Delaware, which would have let him dodge prison time altogether by pleading to misdemeanor ཧtax offenses.
Hunter’s lawyers had insisted he receive b🌼lanket immunity as part of the agreement – which prose꧒cutors and the judge both said they couldn’t sign off on.
The embattled businessman had been hoping to receive immunity from charges linked to alle🍒ged violations of the Foreign Agents Registrat💖ion Act related to lucrative business deals with entities in China, Mexico, Romania, Russia and Ukraine during and after Joe Biden’s time as vice president.
A Delaware jury eventually convicted Biden on three felony counts related to lying about his drug addiction in orde🐟r to purchase a gun — while the feds brought upgraded tax evasion charges against him in Los Angeles.
Lowell, the high-powered white-collar lawyer who’s repped Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, ripped the government for even bringing the ta🔜x case.
“There’s no doubt this case was 𒉰an extreme and unusual one for the government to bring,” he said.
“Like millions of Americans, Hunter was late in filing and paying his taxes. Unlike those millions of Americans, he was charged criminally for his failures that occurred during the depths of his addiction to drugs and alcohol, and which he has rectified by paying his overdue taxes in full with interest and🦋 penalties years before he was ever charged.
“In fact, Hunter actually overpaid his taxes in the year he was charged with tax evasion. Hunter put his family first today and it was a brave and lo♐ving thing for him to do.”
Hunter, who has five children, will be sentenced in the g꧅un case Nov. 13 — days after the election.
“Hunter decided to enter his plea to protect those he loves from unneces♛sary hurt and cruel humi🎐liation,” Lowell said.
“This plea prevents that kind of show trial that would not have provided all the facts or served any real point in justice. He will now move on to the sentencing phase, while keeping open the options to raise the many clear issues with th⛄is case on appeal.”
