Joe Biden’s scandal-plagued son, Hunter Biden, has reached a preliminary agreement with federal prosecutors in which he would plead guilty to tax fraud and admit to the facts of a gun charge of lying on a government form while purchasing a firearm.
The gun charge alone could have resulted in up to 10 years in prison, but Hunter would likely avoid prison time as a part of this sweetheart deal.
The federal investigation of Hunter Biden began in 2018, and the terms of the proposed agreement were negotiated with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and subsequently retained by the Biden administration. Throughout the process, the Biden administration has faced accusations of intentionally delaying and mishandling the case.
Related: What if Hunter Biden Takes a Plea Deal?
“The court papers indicate the younger Biden has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges of failure to pay in 2017 and 2018. The combined tax liability is roughly $1.2 million over those years, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe details of the agreement that are not yet public,” The Washington Post reports. “Prosecutors plan to recommend a sentence of probation for those counts, these people said. Biden’s representatives have said he previously paid back the IRS what he owed. Additionally, Biden plans to admit to illegally possessing a weapon following his 2018 purchase of a handgun. As part of that admission, he expects to be entered in a diversion program, a less punitive form of sentence typically applied to people with substance abuse problems. In all, prosecutors would recommend two years of probation and diversion conditions. If Biden successfully meets the conditions of the diversion program, the gun charge would be removed from his record at the end of that period, the people said.”
BREAKING: Hunter Biden has been charged with two tax misdemeanors and illegal possession of a firearm, pleading guilty to the first two and entering into a pre-trial diversion agreement on the latter, which will undoubtedly keep him out of jail. pic.twitter.com/tetPLIXQZl
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 20, 2023
In April, legal expert Jonathan Turley predicted that a plea deal was likely Hunter’s best-case scenario, as it could contain the damage to the Biden administration. “As a first offender, Hunter could plead out such charges to minimal jail time,” Turley argued. It certainly looks like, between being a first offender and a first son, Hunter Biden got a pretty sweet deal, which most certainly will contribute to the impression that the Bidens are receiving preferential treatment in the justice system compared to Donald Trump.
The plea deal has yet to be approved by a federal judge, and the specific date for his court appearance to enter the guilty plea has yet to be determined.
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