Hunter Biden pleads guilty to tax fraud (2023)

The Trump-appointed federal prosecutor for Delaware has reached an agreement withhunter bites, who is expected to plead guilty to two federal charges of failing to pay his taxes. Biden also faces a separate challengepossession of firearmscharge that will likely be dismissed if it meets certain conditions, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Two sources familiar with the agreement said it includes a provision in which the U.S. attorney agreed to recommend parole for Biden for his tax violations. Legal experts also said that taxes and gun taxes will be moreis unlikely to result in any jail timefor the son of President Joe Biden.

It's the first timeMinistry of Justice- part of the executive branch, headed by the president - has indicted a son of a sitting president.

The decision was made by federal prosecutor David Weiss, who was nominated by then-PresidentDonald Trumpin 2018, marks the end of an extensive, five-year investigation by federal prosecutors, FBI agents and IRS officials into Hunter Biden's conduct. The Biden administration has kept Weiss in place to prevent a presidentially appointed U.S. attorney from overseeing her son's criminal case.

Weiss' office said in a statement: "Hunter Biden received taxable income in excess of $1,500,000 annually in calendar years 2017 and 2018. Despite owing more than $100,000 in federal income tax each year, he did not pay taxes on the rent he owed for either of two years."

Regarding the firearms charge, the affidavit said that "from October 12, 2018 to October 23, 2018, Hunter Biden possessed a firearm despite knowing that he was an unlawful user and dependent on a controlled substance".

Weiss' office also said the investigation is continuing.

Chris Clark, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said in a statement: “With the announcement of two settlements 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 has been resolved.

"Hunter accepts responsibility for two counts of failing to report tax payments when due under a plea agreement. A firearms charge, which will be the subject of a pre-trial diversion agreement and will not be subject to the plea agreement, will also be filed by the government . I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a turbulent and addictive period in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward."

A White House spokesman said: "The president and first lady love their son and are supporting him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment."

Peppered with questions from reporters about the allegations at an event in California, the president said, "I'm very proud of my son."

Trump, who faces criminal charges for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, criticized the deal in a post on his website, Truth Social.

“Biden's corrupt Justice Department just cleaned up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a simple 'traffic ticket.' Our system is broken,” Trump wrote.

The ruling suggests that prosecutors found no reason to file charges related to Hunter Biden's dealings withforeign entitiesor other misdeeds. Trump and several Republican-led congressional investigations have long alleged that Biden engaged in years of criminal conduct with individuals linked to the Chinese government and with companies in Ukraine and elsewhere.

In 2021, Biden paid all of the outstanding taxes he owed for 2017 and 2018, the years cited in the charges. Biden was not charged with failing to file tax returns for those years. He entered pleas but agreed to plead guilty to not paying enough in both years, which was more than $100,000.

The firearm possession charge will be resolved in what is known as a pretrial diversion agreement, where the charges are dropped if the defendant meets certain conditions, such as not committing a crime within a set period of time. The court documents did not reveal the specifics of the Biden gun case.

In a statement, the Justice Department said Biden "faces a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison on each of the tax charges and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the firearm charge," but noted that "sentences for federal crimes are generally less than maximum sentences, " adding: "Any sentence will be determined by a federal district court after taking into account the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors."

When there are deals with prosecutors like this, judges usually honor the terms of the deal, which in this case would be a suspended sentence, but not always.

A judge will schedule a trial in the next few weeks. Hunter Biden is expected to surrender to authorities in Delaware and will be prosecuted by US Marshals there.

In April, NBC News reported that federal prosecutors were consideringfour chargesagainst Biden. The charges filed Tuesday do not include a previously discussed felony tax evasion related to a business expense. for a tax year in 2018.

Weiss presided over the criminal investigation, whose deliberations, spanning months, that led to frustration and confusion among other law enforcement officials, some of them within the FBI and IRS, when both agencies wrapped up their respective investigations last year, according to three top law enforcement officials. Another senior U.S. official said most of the IRS investigation was completed in 2020.

Biden's drug purchases initially caught the attention of local police in Delaware in 2018, and the FBI was brought in to help soon after, a senior law enforcement official said.

The federal investigation began in 2018 under the Trump administration as a broad investigation into Biden's international business dealings with an emphasis on potential national security implications. Over time, it amounted to an investigation of his personal taxes and the purchase of a gun. A grand jury was convened in Delaware and continued to hear testimony throughout 2022, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Biden has acknowledged that business partners sought him out by his last name and that he made millions from deals involving foreign countries, but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In his memoirs, Biden said he used the money for his drug addiction and to support his lifestyle. He has acknowledged his extensive use of cocaine during that period.

Tensions between the investigating federal prosecutor's offices and agencies were high at times and there was disagreement over possible courses of action, two former senior law enforcement officials said.

In early 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh joined the investigation at the request of then-Attorney General William Barr, who was tasked with evaluating information provided by Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani about alleged corruption in Ukraine, which included allegations about Hunter Biden , three senior law enforcement officials said.

Investigators were looking into whether Biden was acting as an agent or lobbyist for a foreign government, a possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Investigators ultimately determined there was no basis for the charges beyond Biden's request for guns and his failure to pay his estimated taxes on time.

In April, an IRS special agent involved in the investigation wrote to members of Congress saying he could provide information that would reveal the failure to address "clear conflicts of interest" in the case and detailed instances of "preferential treatment and policies that infected incorrect decisions and protocols". .” The IRS has declined to comment on the allegations.

Law enforcement officials familiar with the case described it as a thorough investigation involving criminal investigators, FBI and counterintelligence agents in Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware, financial and white-collar crime analysts from FBI headquarters in Washington and several prosecutors in the United States Attorney's Office in Delaware.

House Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden's finances and have alleged that he was involved in onebribery scheme.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said his committee would continue to investigate Biden.

"These allegations against Hunter Biden and the plea deal have no bearing on the oversight committee's investigation. We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden's involvement in the family's plans is revealed," Comer said Tuesday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., suggested that Weiss argued that the federal investigation is only ongoing in an effort to keep investigative evidence out of Congress' hands.

"How can Hunter Biden plead guilty, not go to jail, and the DOJ say there's still an investigation trying to withhold information from the House? That's unacceptable and won't stand," McCarthy said.

Asked about McCarthy's comments Tuesday afternoon in an interview on MSNBC, Clark, Biden's attorney, said, "This was a very careful, five-year investigation by incredibly professional prosecutors," adding, "This is the settlement reached."

He also reiterated his belief that the agreement is the end of the investigation. Asked if he would have signed the deal if he thought more charges were coming, Clark said, "No, I wouldn't."

The Justice Department declined to comment on whether U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was consulted about the charges or played any role in their approval before Tuesday's filing.

Garland had repeatedly vowed not to yield to any political pressure on the matter,tell a Senate panelin April 2022 that "there will be no interference of a political or improper nature."

When asked how the public could have confidence in the investigation, Garland said, "Because we're putting the investigation in the hands of a Trump appointee from the previous administration. And because they have me as their attorney general, who is committed to the independence of the Justice Department from any White House influence in criminal cases.”

In a letter this month answer tojordan is whatworriesabout the treatment of the IRS agent who had complained about alleged conflicts of interest, Weiss said he could not answer questions about the case because it was an "open case," but assured Jordan that he acted in accordance with the law, not politics.

"Throughout my tenure as a federal prosecutor, my decisions have been made and regarding the case must be made without reference to political considerations," Weiss wrote.