Hunter Biden’s legal team has proposed to change his plea to avoid trial in his federal tax case in California, according to multiple reports.
The pivot was announced just before the jury selection process started for the case, and the court went into recess shortly after Hunter Biden’s intention to change his plea was made clear, according to NBC News. Hunter Biden will reportedly seek to maintain his innocence despite switching his plea; the specific terms of the proposal are presently unknown, and it is also unclear whether the judge presiding over the case will accept it. (RELATED: Hunter Biden’s Tax Trial Starts This Week. He Faces Up To 17 Years In Prison.)
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 4, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The president’s son faces three felony and six misdemeanor counts related to his alleged failure to pay the government at least $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2020, a period of time in which Hunter Biden was battling drug addiction. The California tax case was poised to be Hunter Biden’s second trial this year; he was convicted of three felony counts related to his illegal purchase of a firearm in federal court in Delaware in June.
Trump-appointed District Judge Mark Scarsi will have to sign off on the plea, known technically as an “Alford plea,” in order for it to take effect, according to CNN. The plea would effectively mean that Hunter Biden is conceding that the government has enough evidence to win a conviction and that he would accept the sentence that Scarsi eventually gives.
US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden hug on stage at the conclusion of the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the party’s nomination for president at the DNC which runs from August 19-22 in Chicago. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 19: Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden gather with family onstage after President Joe Biden’s speech on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic party supporters are in Chicago for the convention, concluding with current Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party’s presidential nomination. The DNC takes place from August 19-22. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“I think this can be resolved today,” Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said of the plea, according to CNN.
The prosecution has stated that they will raise objections to the Alford plea, according to CNN. Hunter Biden’s father, President Joe Biden, has previously stated that he will not use his authority to pardon his son, though it is unclear whether the president’s position has changed since he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE – JUNE 06: (L-R) Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and Valerie Biden Owens leave the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 06, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. The trial for Hunter Biden’s felony gun charges continues today with additional witnesses. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Hunter Biden’s attorneys and federal prosecutors attempted to present a plea deal in the Delaware firearms case that could have protected him from future prosecutions, but the judge presiding over that case blew up the deal in July 2023.
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