Hunter Biden to File Unusual Federal Tax Motion

By AMY TAXIN, DEEPA BHARATH, ALEX VEIGA and CLAUDIA LAUER, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hunter Biden is changing his plea of not guilty in a federal tax case, his defense attorney said Thursday, just before jury selection begins in the trial.

Attorney Abbe Lowell informed the judge of Hunter Biden’s plans to change his earlier testimony.

Mark Geragos, another Biden lawyer, said in a text message that the president’s son plans to enter a so-called Alford plea, an unusual plea in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction.

“There is overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt,” Lowell told the judge. “This can be resolved today. This is not a complicated case.”

FILE – Hunter Biden arrives at a federal courthouse with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, June 11, 2024, in Wilmington, Delaware. He plans to enter a guilty plea today in his federal tax case. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)AP

Biden faces misdemeanor and felony charges for what prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while raking in millions from offshore entities. He already faces potential prison time after a Delaware jury convicted him in June of making false statements on a 2018 federal form to buy a gun he owned for 11 days.

The defense statement apparently caught prosecutors and the judge off guard. U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi quickly called a recess so both sides could discuss next steps. More than 100 potential jurors were brought to the courthouse Thursday to begin the jury selection process, and opening statements in the case are expected Monday.

The last-minute filing would allow Hunter Biden to avoid a trial that was expected to shed light on his overseas business dealings, which Republicans have investigated for years, accusing his father, President Joe Biden — without evidence — of corruption in connection with his son’s work abroad.

The potential political fallout from a trial just weeks before the presidential election may have faded somewhat since President Biden’s July decision to drop out of the 2024 race. But the president is deeply concerned about his son’s well-being, so the trial is likely to weigh heavily on him in the final months of his five-decade political career.