Hunter Biden pleads guilty in tax case, hours after jury selection for trial was to begin

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to all nine counts in his criminal tax case in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday afternoon, hours after jury selection was due to begin for a trial of the son of President Joe Biden.

Biden's sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16.

Biden faces a maximum possible sentence of 17 years in prison but is likely to receive a less severe punishment than that due to federal sentencing guidelines.

The plea came after prosecutors strongly opposed Biden's surprise offer earlier in the day to enter a special plea — known as an Alford plea — that would allow him to maintain that he believed he was innocent but concede that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him at trial.

If the Alford plea had been accepted by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, Biden would have been convicted of the charges.

The plea that Biden ended up making to Scarsi is an "open plea," or one done without a plea deal with prosecutors, which might have included a reduction in the number of criminal counts he faced and an agreement on the likely terms of his sentencing.

Biden, 54, was charged in the case with three felony counts and six misdemeanors related to failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019.

He was accused of deducting money that he paid to sex workers on his taxes as a business expense and of spending "millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills," according to an indictment.

David Weiss, the Department of Justice special counsel appointed to investigate Biden, said, "Not now," when asked if he had a comment on the guilty plea.

Weiss' prosecution team in June obtained a conviction of Biden in Delaware federal court on three felony counts related to his purchase of a handgun in 2018 while being a user of crack cocaine. He is awaiting sentencing in that case.

Biden, who left court with his wife Melissa Cohen, did not speak to reporters after he pleaded guilty, but issued a written statement.

"I went to trial in Delaware not realizing the anguish it would cause my family, and I will not put them through it again," Biden said.

"When it became clear to me that the same prosecutors were focused not on justice but on dehumanizing me for my actions during my addiction, there was only one path left for me," he said. " I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment.  For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty."

"Like millions of Americans, I failed to file and pay my taxes on time.  For that I am responsible," Biden said.

"As I have stated, addiction is not an excuse, but it is an explanation for some of my failures at issue in this case," he said. "When I was addicted, I wasn't thinking about my taxes, I was thinking about surviving.  But the jury would never have heard that or know that I had paid every penny of my back taxes including penalties."

His attorney, Abbe Lowell, outside of the courthouse said, "Hunter put his family first today."

Lowell said that the "plea prevents that kind of show trial" for Biden, which would have likely included evidence about his abuse of drugs, use of sex workers and lavish lifestyle during the time he was not paying his taxes.

"He will now move on to [the] sentencing phase, while keeping open the many key issues with this case on appeal," Lowell said.

"This case was an extreme and unusual one for the government to bring," said Lowell, who had been critical of the Department of Justice's decision to charge Biden after a plea deal to resolve the tax case and a firearms-related case in Delaware collapsed last summer after a judge raised questions about its conditions.

"Hunter actually overpaid his taxes in the years he's charged with tax evasion," said the attorney.

Earlier, inside the courtroom, Lowell had told Scarsi, "Mr. Biden will agree that the elements of each offense have been satisfied," after returning from a recess following arguments over the proposed Alford plea.

When Scarsi asked special counsel Leo Wise, the prosecutor, if that was sufficient, Wise said he would prefer that Biden admit his actions as alleged in an indictment.

"Will Mr. Biden agree that that is the truth? Because the truth matters," Wise said. "He should have to say that the facts are true!"

Lowell then argued that was not required under the law.

"He just has to agree to the elements," Lowell said. "I know Mr. Wise would like Mr. Biden to say, 'and in addition, I was a really bad person when I did this,' but that's not what the law requires."

Scarsi said, "So we're going to take an open plea from Mr. Biden. And I will ask if you committed conduct that satisfies element in the indictment."

Wise then began reading the 56-page indictment out loud in court. That reading took almost 90 minutes to complete.

On Thursday morning in Los Angeles federal court, more than 100 potential jurors assembled for jury selection in Biden's tax case.

But Biden's lawyer Lowell surprised prosecutors and others in the court when he told Scarsi, "There is no reason to proceed with jury selection as Mr. Biden intends to change his plea."

Lowell told Scarsi there was "no agreement" with prosecutors about Biden's planned Alford plea. But the lawyer said there is no requirement for such an agreement.

"The law is very clear. If the defendant satisfies rule 11b, the court is required to accept the plea," Lowell said."

Lowell also said, "I don't think we would agree under conventional plea circumstances."

Wise, the special counsel, told Scarsi, "This is the first we've heard of this." Wise asked for time to discuss the proposed change of plea privately.

"I think this can be resolved today," Lowell said. "It doesn't need days."

After a recess, Wise told the judge, "I want to make it crystal clear: The U.S. opposes an Alford plea."

"We will not under any circumstances accept an Alford plea," said Wise. "It's not in the public interest, it's contrary to the rule of law and we think it's an injustice."

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

"We were as shocked as anyone else," the prosecutor said about the proposed Alford plea.

He said the prosecution is not in a position to evaluate that plea offer Thursday.

"There's no way to rush this at this point. And it shouldn't be rushed," Wise said. 

Under Department of Justice guidelines, federal prosecutors "may not consent" to an Alford plea "except in the most unusual circumstances and only after the Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, or a higher Departmental official, has approved a written request."

Lowell told Scarsi that Biden is not asking for special treatment, noting that "people all over the U.S." take Alford pleas.

"He is asking for the same rights as others," Lowell said. "He is willing to say that the government has put forth sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. … I don't know why the government wants to punt."

Scarsi called another recess after hearing the arguments and telling attorneys, "I haven't seen a case that tells me I have to accept an Alford plea."

But the judge also said, "Assuming I have the opportunity to reject an Alford plea, why shouldn't I?"

"I need a reason why I accept or reject a plea," Scarsi said. 

After that recess, Biden returned to the courtroom, where Lowell said he would enter his open guilty plea, dropping the suggestion of an Alford plea.

President Biden, as he left the White House earlier Thursday to travel to Wisconsin, ignored shouted questions from reporters about his son's plan to change his original not-guilty plea in the case.

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