Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty Plea to Tax Evasion Charges

AFP/APP

Los Angeles: Joe Biden’s son Hunter pleaded guilty in his tax evasion trial on Thursday, without reaching the deal he had sought with prosecutors, in a case that has been an embarrassment and a distraction for the US president.

The 54-year-old admitted nine counts related to failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes over the past decade, money that prosecutors said he splurged instead on luxury living, sex workers and a drug habit.

The pleas came on the day jury selection for a trial had been due to start, and hours after Biden had offered to plead guilty in the hope of striking a deal that might keep him out of prison.

But no deal appeared to have materialized and Biden made the pleas in open court, with US District Judge Mark Scarsi cautioning him that he could face a lengthy prison sentence, as well as a fine of up to $1 million.

Scarsi set sentencing for December 16.

A trial had been expected to re-hash sordid details of a life that the defendant and his family — including the president — have long acknowledged had gone off the rails.

Biden has already spent a chunk of 2024 in court, having been convicted in Delaware of lying about his drug use when he bought a gun — a felony.

He has yet to be sentenced for that crime, and could face up to 25 years’ detention.