Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, has entered a not guilty plea to federal tax charges. These charges include nine felony and misdemeanour tax offenses. The accusations emerged following the breakdown of a plea deal that, if successful, could have avoided a public criminal trial during the 2024 election campaign.
The federal prosecutors allege that Hunter Biden was involved in a four-year scheme to evade paying $1.4 million in taxes to the IRS. Instead, it is claimed he used the funds for a lavish lifestyle, including expenditure on drugs and alcohol. A tentative trial date has been set for June 20, as announced during a recent half-hour court hearing.
In addition to these tax-related charges, Hunter Biden faces accusations in Delaware of making false statements on a federal gun purchase form in October 2018. He declared he was not using or addicted to illegal drugs, despite being addicted to crack cocaine at the time. He has also entered a not guilty plea in this case, which includes charges of illegal gun possession.
These allegations are part of a lengthy federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax and business affairs. The investigation was expected to conclude over the summer with a plea deal. This deal would have resulted in a two-year probation for Hunter Biden following a guilty plea to misdemeanour tax charges, and it would have prevented prosecution on the gun charge, contingent upon him staying out of legal trouble.
However, the plea deal fell apart when a federal judge, who was expected to approve it, started to question its terms. The proposed plea agreement had been criticized by Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, as being overly lenient.
Meanwhile, former President Trump is dealing with his own legal challenges, facing 91 charges in four separate cases. These include allegations of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Trump also appeared in court in New York for closing arguments in his civil fraud trial.
