Hunter Biden to plead guilty to federal tax charges, ending yearslong criminal probe

U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter has been charged with failing to pay federal income tax and has reached an agreement with the Justice Department, according to a letter filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

As part of the agreement, which was made public Tuesday, Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanour charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes. As well, according to the deal, the 53-year-old is spared a charge on a firearm offence by entering a pretrial diversion agreement.

It is somewhat unusual to resolve a federal criminal case at the same time the charges are filed in court, though it is not totally unheard of.

The deal ends a yearslong Justice Department investigation into Biden's second son, who has acknowledged in his memoir Beautiful Things and in interviews that he struggled with addiction following the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau.

"I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life," Christopher Clark, a lawyer for the younger Biden, said in a statement, noting that it was his understanding that the five-year investigation had now been resolved.

"He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward."

The deal averts a trial that would have generated days or weeks or distracting headlines for a White House that has strenuously sought to keep its distance from the Justice Department.

"The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life," the White House counsel's office said in a statement.

The president told CNN in a 2022 interview that his son was "on the straight and the narrow and he has been for a couple years now, and I'm just so proud of him."

Republicans outraged

The news comes as congressional Republicans pursue their own investigations into nearly every facet of Hunter Biden's business dealings, including examining foreign payments from his time serving on a Ukraine energy company board while his father was vice-president, as well as other aspects of his finances.

James Comer, the Republican House oversight committee chair who has led the party's charge into wider allegations of corruption, said the agreement was a "sweetheart deal."

"Let's be clear: the Department of Justice's charges against President Biden's son Hunter reveal a two-tiered system of justice," said Comer.

However, Shanlon Wu, a legal analyst and former U.S. federal prosecutor, told CBC News the agreement is "not a sweetheart deal," noting the consequences Hunter Biden is facing are stiffer than the average person with the same charges.

"It's relatively rare, for making a false statement on this application for gun ownership, to have anybody be prosecuted and convicted for that as a standalone charge," Wu told As It Happens' Nil Köksal. "Meaning that, usually, people get convicted of that if the gun was then used in some other kind of crime, you know, a robbery or something."

Similarly, Wu said there is usually "a very low appetite" for prosecuting those charged with tax evasion if the outstanding money has been paid.

"So, if you look at this in the context of what would happen to the average person, there's more attention being paid to [Hunter Biden] than normally would happen." 

The development comes days after a 37-count indictment was handed down by the Justice Department, though a special counsel, against former president Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents on his Florida estate, another case with even more dramatic political implications. 

Trump lashed out on social media on Tuesday morning, arguing that the president's son received "a mere 'traffic ticket.'"

"Our system is BROKEN!" Trump posted.

The investigation in Delaware into Hunter Biden was overseen by David Weiss, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney.