Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives at federal court to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., July 26, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Hunter Biden’s plea hearing on two federal tax misdemeanors Wednesday was delayed by a disagreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys about a separate deal over a felony gun charge against President Joe Biden’s son, NBC News reported.
The 53-year-old Biden appeared in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, to enter his plea a month after federal prosecutors revealed the criminal tax charges against the first son. Biden had cut a separate pretrial diversion agreement with prosecutors on the firearm charge, court filings showed.
But Judge Maryellen Noreika, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, put the proceedings on hold as she asked the parties to work out their dispute. Prosecutors said the agreements on the tax and gun charges were distinct, but Hunter Biden said he wouldn’t agree to plead guilty to the tax charges without the diversion program and dismissal of gun charges, per NBC.
The hearing marked the first time that the Department of Justice had filed charges against the child of a sitting U.S. president. But it’s just the latest development in the controversies surrounding Hunter Biden, who has dealt with substance abuse and other issues that have provided fodder for the president’s Republican critics to investigate the first son.
U.S. attorney David Weiss revealed last month that the younger Biden agreed to plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax. A court document detailing the charges alleged that Biden did not pay any federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, despite having made more than $1.5 million annually and owing more than $100,000 in federal taxes each of those years.
The outstanding tax bill has already been repaid, NBC News reported, and Weiss agreed to recommend that Hunter Biden receive a sentence of probation for the tax crimes, rather than serve time behind bars.
Weiss also offered Biden a pretrial diversion agreement on a separate felony charge of possessing a firearm as a user of illegal drugs, Weiss said. Biden in 2018 owned a Colt Cobra revolver “despite knowing he was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance,” court documents said.
The gun charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, but the deal with prosecutors is expected to mean that Biden will avoid any jail time.
A lawyer for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. The White House did not immediately provide a comment.
Republicans have balked at the pretrial diversion agreement, accusing the Justice Department of giving Biden preferential treatment because he is the president’s son. They have also raised concerns about allegations from whistleblowers that Weiss had sought authority to charge Biden with broader charges than the ones that were ultimately made public.
The Justice Department has denied those allegations. Weiss has offered to testify before Congress this fall, the DOJ said in a letter Monday to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
On the eve of the hearing, House Republicans and conservative groups attempted to file briefs urging the judge to consider rejecting the plea agreement, citing allegations from whistleblowers about potential meddling in the case.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
