Hunter Biden enters surprise guilty plea to avoid tax trial months after his gun conviction

LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal tax charges, a surprise move meant to spare his family another painful and embarrassing criminal trial after his gun case conviction just months ago.

Hunter Biden's decision to plead guilty to misdemeanour and felony charges without the benefits of a deal with prosecutors caps a long-running saga over his legal woes that have cast a shadow over his father's political career. It came hours after jury selection was supposed to begin in the case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes.

The president's son was already facing potential prison time after his June conviction on felony gun charges in a trial that aired unflattering and salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction.

The tax trial was expected to showcase more potentially lurid evidence as well as details about Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, which Republicans have seized on to try to paint the Biden family as corrupt.

"I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment," Hunter Biden said in an emailed statement after he entered his plea. "For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty."

Although President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential election muted the potential political implications of the tax case, the trial was expected to carry a heavy emotional toll for the president in the final months of his five-decade political career.

"Hunter put his family first today, and it was a brave and loving thing for him to do," defence attorney Abbe Lowell told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles.

Hunter Biden, 54, quickly responded "guilty" as the judge read out each of the nine counts. He showed no emotion as he walked out the courthouse holding his wife's hand. He ignored questions shouted at him by reporters before climbing into an SUV and driving off.

The charges carry up to 17 years behind bars, but federal sentencing guidelines are likely to call for a much shorter sentence. He faces up to $1.35 million in fines. Sentencing is set for December 16 in front of US District Judge Mark Scarsi, who was nominated to the bench by former President Donald Trump.

He faces sentencing in the Delaware case on November 13 — the week after the general election. Those charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely.

More than 100 potential jurors had been brought to the courthouse Thursday to begin the process of picking the panel to hear the case alleging a four-year scheme to avoid paying taxes while spending wildly on things like strippers, luxury hotels and exotic cars.

Prosecutors were caught off guard when Hunter Biden's lawyer told the judge Thursday morning that Hunter wanted to enter what's known as an Alford plea, under which a defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction.

Special counsel David Weiss' team objected to such a plea, telling the judge that Hunter Biden "is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him."

"Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty," prosecutor Leo Wise said.

After a break in the hearing, Hunter Biden's lawyers said he had decided to plead guilty to all nine charges.

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