In a deal in which he is unlikely to be jailed, Hunter Biden, has agreed with DOJ to plead guilty to three federal tax and firearm charges.
The 53-year-old son of the president, long plagued by a crack cocaine addiction and the focus of investigations into his overseas business dealings, will agree to probation and a guilty plea to two misdemeanor tax charges for failing to pay his 2017 and 2018 taxes on time.
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In addition, despite Biden’s claim on a purchase document that he was drug-free, the court filing stated that the Justice Department would charge Biden but would agree not to prosecute him in connection with his purchase of a handgun in 2018 while he was using drugs. Biden must abstain from drugs for two years and promise never to own a firearm again as part of the agreement.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden and David Weiss, the chief U.S. prosecutor for the eastern state of Delaware who was appointed by former President Donald Trump but retained after Trump’s reelection defeat to the elder Biden in 2020 to continue handling the politically sensitive case, agreed in the course of several months.
“With the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved,” Christopher Clark, Hunter Biden’s attorney, said in a statement.
The investigation was later described as “ongoing” by Weiss.
Clark stated, “I know Hunter believes it is important to accept responsibility for these mistakes he made during a time of turmoil and addiction in his life.” He is eager to move forward and continue his recovery.
A federal judge still needs to approve the agreement. Hunter Biden is anticipated to plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax charges in Delaware federal court, where the Biden family resides when they are not in Washington. He won’t be sentenced to prison unless there are no last-minute complications.
“The president and first lady support their son as he continues to rebuild his life. They love him.” In a statement, White House spokesman Ian Sams said, “We will have no further comment.”
Trump and Republicans in the House of Representatives have tried for a long time to link alleged financial wrongdoing by the Biden family to Hunter Biden’s overseas business deals in China and Ukraine.
The plea deal was criticized by Representative James Comer, who has been investigating the Biden family’s finances.
He stated, “When growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery, Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist.”
Republicans have asserted that Hunter Biden’s only strategy for securing lucrative overseas business deals was to capitalize on the significance of his father’s election as president and vice presidency.
The first impeachment case against then-President Trump was influenced in part by Hunter Biden’s work for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma from 2014 to 2019, for which, according to American media, he was paid tens of thousands of dollars per month.
Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “look into” the business and political activities of both Bidens in Ukraine in July 2019, as Biden loomed as a potential Democratic presidential opponent. Trump had withheld millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine a week before the call.
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Due to the phone call, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, but the Senate cleared him.
On Tuesday, after the Tracker Biden request bargain became known, Trump whined that the Equity Office had given him a simple “traffic ticket.”
