US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, pleaded guilty to federal tax charges, avoiding a potentially embarrassing trial ahead of the US presidential election.
Biden was due in Los Angeles federal court on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. According to the charges, he spent the money on drugs, escorts, and luxury items.
He pleaded guilty to all nine charges. Judge Mark Scarsi told Biden he could face up to 17 years in prison and a fine of as much as $450,000. Sentencing is scheduled for 16 December. Earlier in the day, Biden offered to plead guilty to the charges but not admit wrongdoing. It was an unusual legal manoeuvre dubbed the Alford plea.
The guilty plea breaks a week-long trial that was supposed to take place in the midst of the election campaign. On 5 November, voters will choose between Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and former Republican President Donald Trump. Joe Biden abandoned his bid for re-election in July under pressure from Democrats.
Hunter Biden is accused of failing to pay taxes from 2016 to 2019, spending huge sums “on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature,” according to the indictment.
The trial could also shed light on his work with Ukrainian gas company Burisma and other business dealings when his father was a vice president. The indictment said Hunter Biden “earned handsomely” by serving on the boards of Burisma and a Chinese private investment fund.
He is also appealing a conviction in a separate case in Delaware for illegally buying guns while using drugs. The White House stated, President Biden had ruled out the possibility of a pardon.
