Global Courant
The Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware has reached a plea deal with Hunter Biden in which he is expected to plead guilty to two federal misdemeanor charges for failing to pay his taxes. Biden also faces a separate gun possession charge that will likely be dismissed if he meets certain conditions, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Two sources familiar with the agreement told NBC News that it includes a provision in which the US attorney has agreed to recommend probation for Biden for his tax violations. Legal experts also said the tax and gun charges are unlikely to result in jail time for President Joe Biden’s son.
It is the first time that the Justice Department – part of the executive branch, headed by the president – has filed charges against a child of a sitting president.
The decision by US attorney David Weiss, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2018, ends the sweeping five-year investigation by federal prosecutors, FBI agents and IRS officials into Hunter Biden’s conduct. The Biden administration has kept Weiss in place to prevent a president-appointed US attorney from overseeing his son’s criminal case.
Weiss’s office said in a statement: “Hunter Biden received taxable income of more than $1,500,000 per year in calendar years 2017 and 2018. Despite owing more than $100,000 in federal income tax each year, he paid the Income tax due for neither year.” Regarding the gun charges, the statement said: “From on or about October 12, 2018, through October 23, 2018, Hunter Biden owned a firearm despite knowing he was an unlawful user of and addicted to was on a controlled substance.” Weiss’s office also said the investigation into Biden is ongoing.
Chris Clark, attorney for Hunter Biden, told NBC News in a statement: “With the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter has been resolved. “
“Hunter will take responsibility for two counts of misconduct and failure to file tax payments when due under a plea deal. A firearms charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea deal, will also be submitted by the government I know it is important to Hunter to take responsibility for the mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward to go.”
A White House spokesman said: “The President and the First Lady love and support their son as he continues to build his life. We have no further comment.”
Former President Donald Trump, who faces criminal charges for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, criticized the agreement in a post on his website Truth Social.
“The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by merely giving Hunter Biden a ‘traffic ticket’. Our system is BROKEN,” Trump wrote.
The resolution suggests prosecutors have found no cause to press charges related to Hunter Biden’s dealings with foreign entities or other misconduct. Trump and various Republican-led congressional investigations have long alleged that Biden engaged in years of criminal conduct with individuals associated with the Chinese government and companies in Ukraine and elsewhere.
In 2021, Biden paid all outstanding taxes he owed for 2017 and 2018, the years cited in the indictment. Biden was not charged with not filing returns for those years. He filed returns but agreed to plead guilty for not paying enough in both years, which was more than $100,000.
The gun possession charge will be resolved in what is known as a pre-trial diversion agreement, with the charges dropped if the defendant meets certain conditions, such as not committing a crime within a certain period of time. The specific circumstances of Biden’s gun case were not disclosed in the court documents.
In a statement, the Justice Department said Biden faces “a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison for each of the tax charges and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the firearms charge,” but noted that “penalties for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum A federal district court judge will determine each sentence, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.”
In cases where there is an agreement with prosecutors like this, judges typically abide by the terms of the deal, which would be probation in this case, but not always.
A judge will schedule a date for an arraignment in a few weeks. Hunter Biden is expected to surrender to Delaware authorities and be dealt with by US Marshals there.
In April, NBC reported that federal prosecutors were considering four charges against Biden. The charges filed Tuesday do not include a previously discussed misdemeanor count of tax evasion related to business expenses for a year of taxes in 2018.
The criminal investigation was overseen by Weiss, whose protracted deliberations, which have lasted for months, caused frustration and bewilderment among other law enforcement officials, including within the FBI and IRS, as both agencies concluded their respective investigations in 2022, according to three senior law enforcement officials. enforcement officers. Another senior US official said most of the IRS investigation was completed in 2020.
Biden’s drug purchase initially came to the attention of local Delaware police in 2018, and the FBI was called in to help shortly afterward, a senior law enforcement official said.
The federal investigation into Hunter Biden began in 2018 under the Trump administration as a broad investigation into his international business relationships with a focus on potential national security implications. Over time, it narrowed to an examination of his personal taxes and the purchase of a gun. A grand jury was convened in Delaware and continued to hear testimony from witnesses throughout 2022, according to two known sources.
Biden has acknowledged that business associates sought him out because of his last name and that he made millions on deals related to foreign affairs, but has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In his memoirs, Biden said he used the money for his drug addiction and to sustain his lifestyle. Biden has previously acknowledged his extensive use of cocaine during this period.
At times, tensions ran high between U.S. law firms and agencies and there were disagreements over possible actions, two former senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
In early 2020, the U.S. law firm in Pittsburgh joined the investigation at the request of then-Attorney General Bill Barr, tasked with reviewing information provided by Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani about alleged corruption in Ukraine, including allegations about Hunter Biden, according to three senior law enforcement officials.
Investigators investigated whether Biden was acting as an agent or lobbyist for a foreign government — a possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Investigators eventually concluded that there was no basis for charges beyond Biden’s gun filing and his failure to pay his estimated taxes on time.
In April, an IRS special agent involved in the Hunter Biden investigation wrote to members of Congress claiming he could provide information that would reveal that “obvious conflicts of interest” had not been addressed in the case and detailed examples of “preferential treatment and politics that inappropriately contaminate decisions.” and protocols.” The IRS declined to comment on the allegations.
But law enforcement officials familiar with the case described it as a thorough investigation involving detectives, FBI agents and counterintelligence officers in Baltimore and Wilmington, white-collar crime and financial analysts from FBI headquarters in Washington, as well as multiple prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. in Delaware.
House Republicans have investigated Hunter Biden’s finances and have alleged that he was involved in a bribery scheme.
The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said his committee would continue its investigation into Biden.
“These charges against Hunter Biden and a plea deal do not affect the Oversight Committee’s investigation. We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden’s involvement in the family’s plans is revealed,” Comer said.
