Hunter Biden has repeatedly been the target of Republican attacks. The son of the US President could now avert a lawsuit against himself. In a court document, he admitted to having evaded taxes.
The son of US President Joe Biden has pleaded guilty to tax and gun violations. Hunter Biden admitted to two counts of tax evasion as part of an agreement with prosecutors, a released court document shows. According to US media, the agreement provides that the 53-year-old has agreed to a suspended sentence.
In a separate case, Biden’s son admitted to possessing a firearm, despite being banned from doing so as a drug user. According to media reports, he could avoid prosecution in this case if he followed certain guidelines. According to the New York Times, the deal would be conditional on Hunter Biden staying drug-free for two years and pledging never to own a firearm again.
Judge still has to agree
The agreements with the federal prosecutor’s office in Delaware are intended to prevent a process that could have politically damaged his father. The US President’s son has yet to appear in court for a judge to approve such an agreement. His lawyer, Christopher Clark, said his client wanted to take responsibility for the mistakes he made at a difficult time in his life.
It is not uncommon for criminal cases to come to an agreement whereby prosecutors make certain concessions to a suspect in exchange for a guilty plea.
Trump’s attack followed immediately
President Biden expressed his support for his son, whose past drug problems are well known. “The President and First Lady love and support their son as he continues to rebuild his life,” the White House said. “We will not comment further.”
Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump immediately attacked the agreements reached between the president’s son and the public prosecutor’s office. The “corrupt Biden Justice Department” spared the 53-year-old “hundreds of years of criminal liability by only giving Hunter Biden a ‘traffic ticket'”. The system is “broken”.
The process is politically sensitive
The US judiciary had been investigating Hunter Biden for some time. He had always denied wrongdoing in the past.
The process is also politically very sensitive. Joe Biden has announced that he will run for a second term in the 2024 presidential election. His son Hunter has been the target of political attacks from Republicans for years, most notably from ex-President Trump.
The Republican raised allegations of corruption against Hunter Biden in connection with foreign deals in Ukraine and China. With their majority in the House of Representatives, the Republicans had launched investigations into Hunter Biden’s financial dealings. Joe Biden had always dismissed attacks against his son as a smear campaign.