Hunter Biden.Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty
PresidentJoe Biden’s sonHunter Bidenwas charged Tuesday on federal misdemeanor charges of failing to pay federal income tax and a felony charge of illegally possessing a weapon.
According to multiplereports, Hunter is expected to enter a plea deal in which he will plead guilty to the tax charges and work with prosecutors to get the firearm charge dismissed.NBC News reportsthat the U.S. attorney has agreed to recommend probation for Hunter, and that jail time is unlikely.
The charges come more than a month afterCNBCreported that the younger Biden’s lawyers had met with prosecutors at the Department of Justice, a step that signaled authorities were moving to charge him.
“The President and First Lady love their son and support [Hunter] as he continues to rebuild his life,” a White House spokesperson said in response to the charges. “We will have no further comment.”
But the investigation reportedly evolved with time, focusing also on Hunter’s income taxes and paperwork he used to purchase a firearm in 2018, on which he denied being “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or any other controlled substance” despite publicly admitting to struggles with addiction.
Hunter revealed that federal prosecutors in Delaware were investigating his “tax affairs” about a month after his father was elected president, latertelling CBS Newsthat he was “being completely cooperative” in the investigation.
Hunter and Joe Biden.Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images
In October, President Biden elaborated on his feelings abouthis son and the investigation, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that Hunter had “overcome” his addiction and “established a new life.”
“I’m confident that he is — what he says and does are consistent with what happens,” the president said. “And for example, he wrote a book about his problems and was straightforward about it. I’m proud of him.”
Hunter has no official involvement in the White House and did not work on his father’s presidential campaign, but was nonetheless a major character in the 2020 face-off between his dad and Trump.
In that same debate, Trump also attacked Hunter for his “cocaine use.”
“Like a lot of people we know at home, my son … had a drug problem,” the elder Biden responded. “[Hunter] worked on it. He fixed it. And I’m proud of him. But he wasn’t given tens of millions … that is totally discredited.”
Hunter has spoken openly about his struggles with addiction, which bubbled up into public view during his during his2017 divorce from his first wife, who alleged in legal filings that he had spent money on drugs, alcohol, prostitutes and strip clubs.
In his 2021 memoirBeautiful Things, Hunter delved into his life as an addict, writing that he at one point was drinking a quart of vodka a day; at another, helived with a homeless womanwho was also his dealer. He has since spoken about finding new peace and stability while living on the West Coast, where he also works as a painter.
Ina pair of interviewswith CBS Newsabout his book, the younger Biden said he was convinced that “trauma” stemming from the1972 car crashthat killed his mother, Neilia, and his infant sister, Naomi, was at the center of his addictions.
Hunter and his late brother, Beau, were in the car with them and were both injured.
Hunter has five children, including daughtersNaomi,FinneganandMaisywith his first wife Kathleen, a son Beau with his current wifeMelissa Cohen, and a child he had with a woman in Arkansas thatspawned a paternity suit.
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Reports have indicated that the woman with whom he fathered a child — Lunden Roberts —testified in the caseagainst him, along with another woman with whom he had previously had an affair.
Earlier this month, Biden appeared in an Arkansas state court for a child-support payment hearing regarding the child he had with Roberts. That case remains ongoing.
source: people.com
