Hunter Biden proposes plea in tax case that would avoid criminal trial
Hunter Biden's lawyer has proposed a plea deal that would see the president's son agree there is enough evidence to convict him in his criminal tax case while still maintaining his innocence, according to media reports.
Prosecutors are now considering the offer from attorney Abbe Lowell after first hearing of it in open court as jury selection in the Biden son's trial was set to get underway, according to CBS News. The offer is for what's called an "Alford plea," which allows a defendant to maintain innocence despite agreeing that prosecutors have a strong case.
Hunter Biden was indicted in a California federal court on three felony and six misdemeanor tax charges. Prosecutors alleged he didn't pay at least $1.4 million in taxes on time and evaded other taxes while spending millions on a lavish lifestyle.
The three felony charges – one tax evasion count and two counts of filing false returns – related to 2018. Hunter Biden intentionally misreported taxes for that year, including by falsely claiming payments to women he had romantic and sexual relationships with were wages, according to the allegations. He previously pleaded not guilty.
The maximum sentence under the charges is 17 years in prison, although such a hefty sentence would be unlikely, even without a deal in place.
According to Justice Department guidance, U.S. attorneys aren't permitted to consent to an Alford plea "except in the most unusual of circumstances" and only with approval from a higher department official.
It's unclear how that guidance applies to David Weiss, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as special counsel in tax and gun investigations of the president's son. The special counsel role means Weiss has more independence in the case than a typical Justice Department prosecutor.
Hunter Biden had previously agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors through a deal that would have potentially allowed him to avoid jail time on both tax charges and a gun charge. However, the deal fell apart when he and the prosecution disagreed on whether it would protect him from future charges and a judge refused to quickly approve it.
In June, Weiss won a conviction at trial against Hunter Biden on federal gun charges that carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, although legal experts say such high punishment is unlikely in his Nov. 13 sentencing for a first-time, nonviolent conviction. The charges included lying on a federal form about his drug use in order to purchase a gun.