Hunter Biden arrives at at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base after disembarking from Air Force One with his father, U.S. President Joe Biden, in Syracuse, New York, U.S., February 4, 2023.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to two federal crimes of willfully failing to pay federal income taxes, a court filing Tuesday revealed.
Hunter Biden also has agreed to enter a so-called pretrial diversion agreement in connection with a charge of possession of a gun by a person who is a user or addict of illegal drugs, according to that filing by prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Delaware.
Typically, such agreements call for the related criminal charge to be dismissed if a defendant complies with the conditions of the deal for a set period of time.
NBC News, citing two sources familiar with Hunter’s plea deal, said that U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss agreed to recommend to a judge that Hunter receive a sentence of probation for the tax crimes.
Weiss was appointed to his post by then-President Donald Trump, and was allowed to remain in that position after Joe Biden’s election to continue what had been an ongoing investigation of Biden’s son.
Weiss has filed two charging documents, known as informations, against Hunter, one for the tax crimes, and one for the firearm charge. Prosecutors routinely use an information to charge defendants who have agreed to plead guilty.
A memorandum summarizing the terms of Hunter’s plea agreement and details of the pretrial diversion deal will be publicly filed by the time he appears in court for a plea hearing, a prosecutor in Weiss’s office wrote in a letter to the federal court clerk in Delaware.
Hunter Biden, who for years has struggled with substance abuse, in 2022 paid federal income taxes he had failed to previously pay for 2017 and 2018.
White House spokesman Ian Sams in a statement to NBC News said, “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”
Chris Clark, Hunter’s criminal defense lawyer, in a statement, said, “With the announcement of two agreements 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 is resolved.”
“Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments when due pursuant to a plea agreement,” Clark said.
“A firearm charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement, will also be filed by the Government,” he said.
“I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.”
Trump, who was indicted earlier this month on more than three dozen federal charges related to his alleged illegal retention of classified documents after leaving the White House, blasted Hunter’s plea deal in a post on his Truth Social site.
“Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ [Department of Justice] just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere “traffic ticket,’ ” Trump wrote. “Our system is BROKEN!”
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
