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First Son Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine counts of federal tax charges on Thursday, according to a statement from his attorney.
He is set to remain free on bond until his sentencing on December 16, according to Fox News.
Hunter Biden was indicted last year by special counsel David Weiss over multiple tax crimes due to his reported failure to pay more than a million dollars in taxes, the Daily Wire reported. Of the nine charges filed, three were felonies, while six were misdemeanors.
Biden’s lawyers claimed their client was incapable of paying these taxes because he was too drunk or high. However, the special counsel argued that the defendant had “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” Fox News wrote.
Biden had previously pleaded not guilty before switching his plea in a surprising move.
Fox News reported that the judge made Biden swear under oath to no longer stay silent and that he would give up all of his rights to a trial if he pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors also objected to Biden’s Alford plea agreement, which is when a defendant admits that the prosecutor’s evidence would be enough to convict, leading them to accept whatever penalties lie ahead while maintaining innocence, per the Daily Wire.
An Alford deal is rarely accepted by the Justice Department, as it is used for only the most unusual of circumstances and only after a recommendation for doing so has been approved by the Assistant Attorney General responsible for the subject matter or by the Associate Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, or the Attorney General.
Hunter Biden was previously convicted in June on three felony counts for lying on paperwork when purchasing a firearm while being a drug addict, which carried a potential 25-year sentence and fines as much as $750,000 if found guilty.
