It's official.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty Thursday evening to all nine criminal charges in his tax evasion case in Los Angeles federal court, just hours after jury selection was set to begin for his trial.
Biden had previously attempted to resolve the case with an Alford plea, an arrangement that would have allowed him to maintain his innocence while accepting punishment. However, prosecutor Leo Wise made it clear that the government opposed the deal.
“Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty. He is not permitted to plead guilty on special terms,” Wise told the court.
As CNBC reports:
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.
The ongoing legal saga has been a point of contention leading into the 2024 elections, especially as Republicans push for further investigations and possible impeachment inquiries related to the Biden family.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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