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Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives at court for his trial on tax evasion in Los Angeles on Sept. 5, 2024.
Ringo Chiu | AFP | Getty Images
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to all nine counts in his criminal tax case in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday afternoon, hours after jury selection was due to begin for a trial of the son of President Joe Biden.
Biden’s sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16.
The plea came after prosecutors strongly opposed Biden’s surprise offer earlier in the day to enter a special plea — known as an Alford plea — that would allow him to maintain that he believed he was innocent but concede that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him at trial.
If the Alford plea had been accepted by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, Biden would have been convicted of the charges.
The plea that Biden ended up making to Scarsi is an “open plea,” or one done without a plea deal with prosecutors, which might have included a reduction in the number of criminal counts he faced and an agreement on the likely terms of his sentencing.
Biden, 54, was charged in the case with three felony counts and six misdemeanors related to failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes between 2016 and 2019.
He was accused of deducting money that he paid to sex workers on his taxes as a business expense and of spending “millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” according to an indictment.
“Mr. Biden will agree that the elements of each offense have been satisfied,” Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell told Scarsi after returning from a recess following arguments over the proposed Alford plea.
When Scarsi asked special counsel Leo Wise, the prosecutor, if that was sufficient, Wise said he would prefer that Biden admit his actions as alleged in an indictment.
“Will Mr. Biden agree that that is the truth? Because the truth matters,” Wise said. “He should have to say that the facts are true!”
Lowell then argued that was not required under the law.
“He just has to agree to the elements,” Lowell said. “I know Mr. Wise would like Mr. Biden to say, ‘and in addition, I was a really bad person when I did this,’ but that’s not what the law requires.”
Scarsi said, “So we’re going to take an open plea from Mr. Biden. And I will ask if you committed conduct that satisfies element in the indictment.”
Wise then began reading the 56-page indictment out loud in court. That reading took almost 90 minutes to complete.
In June, Biden was found guilty after trial in another case where he was accused of crimes related to his purchase of a handgun in 2018 while being a user and addict of crack cocaine.
He is awaiting sentencing in that case, which was tried in U.S. District Court in Delaware.
On Thursday morning in Los Angeles federal court, more than 100 potential jurors assembled for jury selection in Biden’s tax case.
But Biden’s lawyer Lowell surprised prosecutors and others in the court when he told Scarsi, “There is no reason to proceed with jury selection as Mr. Biden intends to change his plea.”
Lowell told Scarsi there was “no agreement” with prosecutors about Biden’s planned Alford plea. But the lawyer said there is no requirement for such an agreement.
“The law is very clear. If the defendant satisfies rule 11b, the court is required to accept the plea,” Lowell said.”
Lowell also said, “I don’t think we would agree under conventional plea circumstances.”
Wise, the special counsel, told Scarsi, “This is the first we’ve heard of this.” Wise asked for time to discuss the proposed change of plea privately.
“I think this can be resolved today,” Lowell said. “It doesn’t need days.”
After a recess, Wise told the judge, “I want to make it crystal clear: The U.S. opposes an Alford plea.”
“We will not under any circumstances accept an Alford plea,” said Wise. “It’s not in the public interest, it’s contrary to the rule of law and we think it’s an injustice.”
“Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” said Wise.
“We were as shocked as anyone else,” the prosecutor said about the proposed Alford plea.
He said the prosecution is not in a position to evaluate that plea offer Thursday.
“There’s no way to rush this at this point. And it shouldn’t be rushed,” Wise said.
Under Department of Justice guidelines, federal prosecutors “may not consent” to an Alford plea “except in the most unusual circumstances and only after the Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, or a higher Departmental official, has approved a written request.”
Lowell told Scarsi that Biden is not asking for special treatment, noting that “people all over the U.S.” take Alford pleas.
“He is asking for the same rights as others,” Lowell said. “He is willing to say that the government has put forth sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. … I don’t know why the government wants to punt.”
Scarsi called another recess after hearing the arguments and telling attorneys, “I haven’t seen a case that tells me I have to accept an Alford plea.”
But the judge also said, “Assuming I have the opportunity to reject an Alford plea, why shouldn’t I?”
“I need a reason why I accept or reject a plea,” Scarsi said.
After that recess, Biden returned to the courtroom, where Lowell said he would enter his open guilty plea, dropping the suggestion of an Alford plea.
President Biden, as he left the White House earlier Thursday to travel to Wisconsin, ignored shouted questions from reporters about his son’s plan to change his original not-guilty plea in the case.
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