Biden’s son reaches plea deal in tax evasion, weapons case

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two minor charges related to tax evasion and admit to the facts of a gun charge, an agreement he has reached with the Department of Justice.

Hunter Biden faces fines and probation under the deal, which must be approved by a court, and not jail term.

The case was filed in 2018 under the Donald Trump administration and it had become a key weapon for the Republicans to attack the President and his administration.

"The defendant has agreed to plead guilty to both counts of the tax information," the prosecutors wrote in two papers filed in the court on Tuesday called 'criminal information', which are typically filed in cases in which the defendants plead guilty.

"The defendant has agreed to enter a Pretrial Diversion Agreement with respect to the firearm information," according to the second criminal information.

Diversion does not technically amount to a guilty plea. It is used in cases involving defendants with substance abuse problems. Hunter has admitted to addiction to crack cocaine in his memoir "Beautiful Things". The gun charges stem from his own admissions in his memoir.

"Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of failure to file tax payments when due," Chris Clark, one of Hunter Biden's lawyers, said in a written statement.

He added: "A firearm charge, which will be subject to a Pretrial Diversion Agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement, will also be filed by the government. I know Hunter Biden believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward."

While Joe Biden's defenders have argued that Hunter is a recovering addict and the charges are relatively light, Republicans have been targeting the younger Biden, also accusing him, without evidence, of making a fortune when the senior Biden was the Vice President.

"People are going wild with the Hunter Biden scam with the Department of Justice," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump is running for President again but is under indictments in two major cases -- one related to paying an adult film star hush money to keep quiet about her allegations that the two had an affair in 2005, and the other to his mishandling of national defence papers.

He could notch a few more for his role in the January 6 riots on the Capitol in 2021 and attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election in Georgia.