Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives in court for his tax fraud trial in Los Angeles, California, September 5, 2024.
Ringo Chiu | AFP | Getty Images
A lawyer for Hunter Biden told a federal judge in Los Angeles Thursday morning that there is no reason to proceed with scheduled jury selection in his criminal tax case because President Joe Biden’s son intends to change his plea.
Hunter Biden, 54, previously pleaded not guilty in the case, in which he is charged with three felony counts and six misdemeanors related to failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019.
“There is no reason to proceed with jury selection since Mr. Biden intends to change his plea,” defense attorney Abbe Lowell told U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi just before jury selection was scheduled to begin.
Lowell said Biden intends to change his plea to an Alford plea, in which a defendant maintains he is innocent of the crimes charged but admits prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him.
If Scarsi accepts Biden’s Alford plea, he will be found guilty.
Lowell told Scarsi there was “no agreement” with prosecutors about Biden’s plan to plead guilty. But the attorney said such an agreement was not necessary.
“The law is very clear. If the defendant meets Rule 11(b), the court is required to accept the plea,” Lowell said.
Lowell also said, “I don’t think we would agree under conventional plea circumstances,” which could imply prosecutors agreeing to the terms of a plea.
Leo Wise, the prosecutor in charge of the case, seems surprised by Lowell’s announcement.
“This is the first we’ve heard of this,” Wise told Scarsi, NBC News reported.
Wise requested time to discuss the proposed plea change privately.
“I think this problem can be solved today,” Lowell said. “It doesn’t have to be days.”
Scarsi told attorneys that — for now — he would not release the 125 people gathered for jury selection. He adjourned hearings in the case until 2 p.m. ET.
Hunter Biden was convicted in June after a trial in a separate case in which he was charged with crimes related to the purchase of a handgun in 2018 while he was a crack cocaine user and addict.
He is awaiting sentencing in the case, which was tried in U.S. District Court in Delaware.
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