Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty in Tax Case

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty on Thursday to nine federal tax charges in Los Angeles, after telling his legal team that he refused to subject his family to another round of anguish and humiliation after a gut-wrenching gun trial in Delaware two months ago.

The dramatic development signaled the final stages of a fraught five-plus year investigation into the period when Mr. Biden was bankrolling his uncontrollable drug and alcohol addiction by leveraging his famous last name into lucrative overseas consulting contracts — while not paying his taxes.

The guilty plea was a unilateral decision by defense lawyers who were persuaded they could not prevail in the trial. It was not part of a plea deal in exchange for reduced punishment.

Mr. Biden, speaking in a low and clipped voice as he sat at the defense table, repeated the word “guilty” nine times as Judge Mark C. Scarsi ticked off each charge.

He will remain free on bond until his sentencing hearing in mid-December.

The guilty plea now exposes President Biden’s son to an outcome that seemed unthinkable last year, when his lawyers were on the cusp of a no-prison plea agreement: significant time behind bars. He now faces a maximum prison sentence of up to 17 years or a fine of up to $1.3 million, on top of the possible sentence of 25 years after being convicted of lying on a firearms application in Delaware in June.

It does not appear, at least for now, that he is banking on executive parental reprieve. As Hunter Biden’s team appeared in court, listening intently while every word of his 56-page criminal indictment was read back to him, the White House press secretary told reporters, “It’s still very much a no,” when asked if the president planned to pardon his son.