Hunter Biden, the eldest son, tried to change his plea to not guilty to tax evasion charges, but the judge postponed the ruling.
Jury selection in the case was scheduled to begin Thursday morning in federal court in Los Angeles. Biden, 54, had previously pleaded not guilty to three felony charges and six misdemeanor charges. tax evasion.
“Such pleas should not be used to obscure the truth.”
But as the hearing began, Biden's defense team suddenly announced that Biden intended to change his plea to an Alford plea — technically a guilty plea in which a defendant acknowledges that prosecutors may be able to win a conviction without admitting that the accusations against him or her are true.
Attorney Abe Lowell said Thursday that the evidence against Biden “Overwhelming“And he claimed that Biden offered to change the charges in order to quickly resolve the case.”
Prosecutors were caught off guard by the sudden turn of events and rejected an Alford plea offer.
“Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” prosecutor Leo Wise said in court. “He has no right to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.”
District Judge Mark Scarsi said: Donald TrumpHe then declared a short recess and asked all parties to return to the meeting in the morning.
After court resumed, Judge Wise reiterated that “the United States opposes the Alford plea” in Biden's case.
“The court must accept the plea,” Lowell argued, adding that all details “can be worked out today.” NBC News Reported.
Judge Scarce seemed skeptical. “I've never seen a case that says you have to accept an Alford plea,” he said.
Scalsi ultimately postponed a decision on the matter and asked lawyers on both sides to submit briefs outlining their arguments.
“The public rightly expects the courts to pursue the truth through transparent processes,” he said at the hearing. CNN“Such pleas should not be used to obscure the truth.”
The Justice Department said Hunter Biden knowingly failed to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019, using the money to support a “lavish lifestyle” instead of “paying taxes,” and also filed a false tax return in 2018.
If convicted, he could face up to 17 years in prison.
In June, a federal jury in Delaware found Hunter Biden guilty of three gun-related charges. The case has not yet been handed down, but it could carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Because this is Biden's first formal criminal offense, he is unlikely to face the maximum sentence.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly maintained that he will not pardon his son, either in the gun case or the tax case. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated on Thursday that the president will not pardon Hunter. The spokeswoman declined to comment on Hunter Biden's attempts to change his plea deal, according to the Associated Press.
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