Joe Biden’s son surprisingly pleads guilty

The son of the incumbent President of the United States Joe Biden was in court. There, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in a tax case.

Los Angeles/Washington – In the increasingly heated phase of the election campaign, the son of the US President Joe Biden creates clarity in its current process. Because Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to several tax offenses. This was reported by US media, including the broadcasters CNN and NBC, consistent from the court in Los Angeles.

Son of US President Joe Biden: Hunter Biden pleads guilty in court

By pleading guilty, the 54-year-old is avoiding a trial for Joe Biden that was supposed to start on Thursday with jury selection. CNN and NBC also reported that sentencing in the case is now scheduled for December 16.

At the start of the court session in Los Angeles, Hunter Biden initially surprised everyone with another legal move and offered an unusual agreement with the judiciary. Specifically, he proposed a judicial deal in which the defendant does not plead guilty in the classic sense, but at the same time acknowledges that the evidence in the case would probably lead to a guilty verdict. However, the prosecution rejected the proposal.

Joe Biden’s son in court: Hunter Biden makes surprising guilty plea in court

This was followed by Biden’s – also surprising – classic guilty plea. Hunter Biden had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge of tax fraud in the case. With his about-face, he has now averted a trial in which further sensitive details from his business and private life would have been made public.

In December, Hunter Biden was charged with several tax offenses. The 54-year-old is accused of failing to pay federal taxes properly for several years. He spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle instead of paying his tax bills, the accusation went. Hunter Biden only paid his taxes retroactively.

Hunter Biden pleads guilty: Trial dates back to case before Joe Biden’s presidency

Specifically, it concerns the years 2016 to mid-October 2020 – that is, until shortly before Joe Biden was elected US President. During this time, Hunter Biden had recorded more than seven million US dollars in income, according to the indictment in the court case. However, he decided at the time not to pay taxes, but to spend the money on other things: “On drugs, hostesses and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other things of a personal nature, in short: on everything except his taxes.”

The meticulous listing of delicate expenses in the indictment, such as for sex clubs and “adult entertainment,” caused a great stir. Hunter Biden would have been very keen not to reveal such details in public in a trial.

Hunter Biden pleads guilty in the USA: Son of US President Biden sentenced in June

Before his surprise guilty plea in the current case in the US, Hunter Biden was found guilty of illegal possession of weapons in another criminal case in June. In that case, he was accused of making false statements when purchasing a weapon in October 2018 and of concealing his drug addiction at the time.

He denied the allegations. In the trial under Biden, all sorts of delicate private matters were dealt with publicly before the guilty verdict. The sentence in the weapons case is to be announced on November 13.

Hunter Biden trial: Court proceedings place political pressure on US President Biden

Hunter Biden’s negative headlines in recent years and especially his legal problems in recent months have also put political pressure on his father Joe Biden. According to media reports, Hunter Biden is the first child of a sitting US president to be found guilty in a federal criminal case. republican used this to launch political attacks against the US President, who has since withdrawn from the campaign for a second term for other reasons. He is now being replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris in the fight for the White House against Donald Trump as candidate of the Democrats at the US election 2024 on November 5th.

Joe Biden, who is suffering from the guilty verdict, has made it clear several times that he will not pardon his son or reduce his sentence. The White House spokeswoman stressed on Thursday before Hunter Biden’s guilty plea that this still applies. (with material from dpa)