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NBCSep 02
Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty to Nine Tax Offenses
Above: Hunter Biden, son of US Pres. Joe Biden, departs from the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware on June 3, 2024. Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images via Getty Images News
The Facts
Hunter Biden, son of US Pres. Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to all nine of his federal tax offenses on Thursday — a last-minute change of heart that came as a federal court in Los Angeles prepared for jury selection in his case.
Biden stood accused of felony charges of tax evasion, filing a false personal tax return, and filing a false corporate tax return, in addition to six misdemeanor charges for failing to pay $1.4M in taxes between 2016 and 2019.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Now that Pres. Biden has pulled himself out of the presidential race, the consequences of additional criminal convictions for his son have less political weight. However, a new trial would have been damaging to the Bidens in other ways. In that respect, Hunter Biden did the right thing.
Republican narrative
There was never any question of whether Hunter Biden was guilty of these crimes. Now, after dragging his family through the whole ordeal, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty at the latest possible stage, likely in the hopes of still being pardoned by his father in the last months of his presidency.