Hunter Biden will reverse course and plead guilty to federal tax charges.
Biden’s defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, made the announcement in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday as 120 jurors waited nearby to be selected for his trial.
President Joe Biden’s son is being accused of participating in a four-year plot to avoid paying about $1.4 million in taxes while also scoring millions from foreign business organizations. If he had been convicted at trial, he faced up to 17 years in prison.
The last-minute plea change was not a result of a plea deal, Daily Mail reports.
“This is the first we’re hearing of this,” prosecutor Leo Wise told Judge Mark Scarsi.
“Lowell cited legal cases and precedents suggesting that by pleading guilty, the judge would have to decide on the facts of the case rather than a jury, and the judge could only use material that has already been filed in the case,” according to the outlet. “Wise said he needed time to review the legal case Lowell cited, and the judge allowed them to take a break until 11am.”
Biden’s counsel did not specify if their client will be pleading guilty to all nine charges, three of which are felonies.
Hunter Biden, whose legal troubles began in 2023 when he was charged with federal tax violations, has faced scrutiny over his business dealings, including those related to his work in Ukraine and China.
Though the president does have the ability to pardon his son or reduce his sentence, Joe Biden said he would not do so after Hunter was convicted of gun charges in June.
"I'm not going to do anything. I said I'd abide by the jury decision. I will do that. And I will not pardon him,” he said at the time, per ABC7.
“There aren't public indications that Joe Biden's thinking has changed,” the outlet reports, citing CNN. “But he's famously protective of his son, and presidents have pardoned family members before. Decisions are likely to happen between father and son, as the term wraps up.”
Hunter Biden’s sentencing in Delaware for his gun conviction is scheduled for Nov. 13. Though he faces 25 years in prison, he may receive less time or avoid prison completely, according to AP News.
