By Editor-June 20th, 2023.
US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty on two federal tax charges and will seek a separate court plea-deal on a firearms charge in a deal with the Justice Department, according to reports from Reuters news agency and US media, citing a court publicly available court document.
In a statement provided to several US news outlets, the younger Biden’s lawyer confirmed on Tuesday that “Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments when due pursuant to a plea agreement.”
The lawyer, Christopher Clark, added that a separate firearms charge, “will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement”. A “pretrial diversion” is typically an agreement between defendants and prosecutors that allows rehabilitation instead of prison time.
“I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward,” the statement said.
The deal is expected to end a yearslong federal probe into the younger Biden’s personal and professional dealings.
Any deal would have to be approved by a federal judge. It is not clear when Hunter Biden might appear in the Delaware court where the agreement is to be filed, as he lives in California.
No details are known about the income tax non-payment charges, but it was widely reported that Biden Jr. was at one time receiving $56,000 per month for providing ‘consultancy’ services to the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, although Hunter Biden does not speak Russian or Ukrainian.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
