Prosecutors told a judge they oppose Hunter Biden’s proposed Alford plea, which would allow him to plead guilty to the charges while maintaining his innocence to the underlying conduct.
An attorney for Hunter Biden earlier said the president’s son would plead guilty, just moments before prospective jurors were to be summoned into the Los Angeles courtroom where his federal trial on tax charges was scheduled to begin.
The term “Alford plea” was not uttered in court, but defense attorney Abbe Lowell described an Alford plea while a prosecutor said the special counsel would not accept a plea in which Hunter does not accept guilt. According to sources, the defense spelled out Hunter Biden’s proposed terms behind closed doors while the court was in recess.
“I want to make something crystal clear: The United States opposes an Alford plea,” prosecutor Leo Wise said Thursday.
Wise accused Hunter Biden of seeking special treatment with the guilty plea.
“Hunter Biden is guilty,” Wise said. “We were shocked as everyone else in the courtroom when Mr. Lowell stated his intentions.”
The proceeding quickly descended into a technical argument about whether Hunter Biden is proposing an Alford plea, or if he is proposing an open plea, which would require an admission of guilt.
“To put a fine point on it – is the defendant maintaining his innocence? I think that’s a critical question before we can proceed,” Wise said. “Once we know that, we can further state our position.”
District Judge Mark Scarsi suggested he would entertain a plea in which Hunter Biden agreed that the government has sufficient evidence to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt; however, Scarsi does not believe he could be compelled into accepting an Alford plea.
Wise asked for the rest of the day to consider the proposed plea.
An Alford plea is rare and usually invoked when defendants concede they cannot win at trial but maintain they’re innocent. If accepted, it would require Hunter Biden to say he is guilty of the charges but the judge would not require him to allocate as to why he is guilty
The president’s son arrived at the courthouse Thursday morning shortly before jury selection was set to begin. When Judge Scarsi entered court into session, Hunter Biden’s attorney announced his intention to change his plea and said there was no need to move forward with jury selection.
This courtroom sketch shows Hunter Biden entering a federal courtroom for jury selection for his trial on felony tax charges, Sept. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles.
William T. Robles via AP
Prosecutors appeared to be taken aback by the sudden change, telling Scarsi they would not accept anything other than a guilty plea.
“This is the first we have heard of this,” prosecutor Wise said.
Prosecutors alleged that Hunter Biden had engaged in a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on exotic cars, clothing, escorts, drugs, and luxury hotels. He had originally pleaded not guilty to a nine-count indictment that includes six misdemeanor charges of failure to pay, plus a felony tax evasion charge and two felony charges of filing false returns.
All back taxes and penalties were eventually paid in full by a third party, identified by ABC News as Hunter Biden confidant Kevin Morris.
Thursday’s court appearance comes three months after Hunter Biden was convicted by a Delaware jury on three felony charges related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs. His sentencing in that case is scheduled for Nov. 13.
What did prosecutors allege?
In their 56-page indictment, prosecutors alleged that Hunter Biden willfully avoided paying taxes by subverting his company’s own payroll system, that he failed to pay his taxes on time despite having the money to do so, and that he included false information in his 2018 tax returns.
Hunter Biden arrives in federal court for jury selection for his trial on felony tax charges, Sept. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Jae C. Hong/AP
“[T]he defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” the indictment alleged.
Prosecutors also highlighted millions of dollars that Hunter Biden received from overseas business in Ukraine, China, and Romania in exchange for “almost no work.”
Although Hunter Biden eventually paid back all his back taxes and penalties with the help of a third party, Judge Scarsi blocked defense attorneys from introducing that information to the jury.
“Evidence of late payment here is irrelevant to Mr. Biden’s state of mind at the time he allegedly committed the charged crimes,” Scarsi wrote in an order last week.
Last June, Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor offenses, acknowledging that he failed to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. The deal also allowed him to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement to avoid criminal charges related to his 2018 firearm purchase.
Had the deal worked out, Hunter Biden would have likely faced probation for the tax offenses and had his gun charge dropped if he adhered to the terms of his diversion agreement.
However, the plea deal fell apart during a contentious hearing before U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who took issue with the structure of the deal.
By September, the special counsel had unsealed an indictment in Delaware charging Hunter Biden for lying on a federal form when he purchased a firearm in 2018.
The federal indictment in Los Angeles for the tax crimes followed in December.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.
