Hunter Biden, 53, has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes, and a Pretrial Diversion Agreement on a gun possession charge.
An investigation was opened in 2018 during the Trump administration, and Republicans since have complained about the DOJ’s reluctance to pursue the case.
*Note: Report says DOJ resisted investigating Trump’s role in Jan. 6 for over a year — PBS
The tax charges are misdemeanors for non-payment in 2017 and 2018 for $1.2 million. Biden representatives say Hunter has paid back what he owed, and prosecutors are said to recommend probation.
On the gun charge: “The defendant has agreed to enter a Pretrial Diversion Agreement with respect to the firearm Information.”
According to his own autobiography, Hunter Biden said he denied using drugs when he filled out paperwork to purchase the gun. He owned the gun for two weeks, and his then-girlfriend threw the gun away.
Diversion is an option typically applied to nonviolent offenders with substance abuse problems, and is not technically a guilty plea.
At the end of two years of probation, the gun charge would be removed from his record.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams declined to comment Tuesday other than to say that the president and first lady “love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life.”