WASHINGTON — First son Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to federal tax and firearms charges in a deal with his father’s Justice Department that’s expected to carry no prison time and leave his record free of felony convictions.
The charges announced by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss’ office amount to a slap on the wrist following a five-year investigation into Hunter, 53, for failing to report millions of dollars in income from countries such as China and Ukraine.
The president’s son will plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of failing to pay federal income tax, according to a letter submitted to federal court by Weiss, a Trump administration holdover recommended to his post by the state’s two Democratic senators, who are close Biden allies.
According to charging documents, Hunter failed to pay at least $100,000 he owed in income tax in both 2017 and 2018, though the precise amounts are not stated.
The first son allegedly received more than $1.5 million in taxable income in each of those years. Hunter reportedly borrowed $2 million to pay off back taxes last year in an attempt to avoid charges.
As part of the agreement, Hunter will enroll in a pretrial diversion agreement on the felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user after he lied on a federal gun purchase form in October 2018 about his addiction.
The first son is expected to get probation lasting about two years on the gun charge, with a requirement that he stay sober, submit to drug testing, and avoid additional criminal behavior.
He may also be made to agree to never own firearms again.
Weiss’ office said the tax charges each come with a maximum sentence of 12 months and that the firearm charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years’ incarceration. But a source familiar with the probe said the feds would likely recommend probation for Hunter’s tax charges as well.
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