US Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss filed charges against Biden on Tuesday for two misdemeanor tax offenses and a felony firearm offense, the office said in a statement. Biden agreed to plead guilty to the tax offenses and enter into a pre-trial diversion agreement on the firearms offense, the statement said.
"Hunter Biden is charged with two violations of failure to pay income tax and one violation of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person prohibited," the statement said. "The investigation is ongoing."
The tax charges carry maximum sentences of one year in prison each and the firearm charge 10 years, the statement said. Biden is not expected to face jail time under the plea agreement, although a judge will have the final say, US media reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Hunter Biden Agrees to Plead Guilty to 2 Federal Charges
Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden's son has agreed to plead guilty to two federal tax charges and has reached a deal with the Justice Department to settle a separate firearms charges, a US court document revealed.
"The first Information charges the defendant with tax offenses – namely, two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7203. The defendant has agreed to plead guilty to both counts of the tax Information," US attorney David Weiss said in a letter.
He also noted that the second Information charges Hunter Biden with one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
"The defendant has agreed to enter a Pretrial Diversion Agreement with respect to the firearm Information," Weiss added.
US House Oversight Committee Will Continue Biden Probe Despite Guilty Plea
The US House Oversight Committee will continue its probe into alleged corruption by the family of US President Joe Biden despite his son, Hunter Biden, reaching a plea deal with the Justice Department on tax and gun charges, Committee Chairman James Comer said on Tuesday.
“These charges against Hunter Biden and sweetheart plea deal have no impact on the Oversight Committee’s investigation. We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden’s involvement in the family’s schemes are revealed,” James Comer said in a statement.
Comer characterized the plea agreement as a “slap on the wrist” amid the panel’s investigation into potential corruption, influence peddling, and bribery by the Biden family.
The plea deal resolves the Justice Department’s five-year probe into Hunter Biden, according to his attorney.
The Oversight Committee’s investigation is operating alongside a separate House probe into the alleged weaponization of the US government, including its federal law enforcement, for political purposes.
Former US President Donald Trump criticized the Hunter Biden plea deal as well, calling the US justice system “broken.”
“The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere ‘traffic ticket,’” Trump said via social media.
US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene similarly criticized the plea deal, characterizing it as a “stunt” to make Hunter Biden appear cooperative with the Justice Department. The Justice Department is protecting their “puppet President” by refusing to prosecute Joe and Hunter Biden for alleged bribes from Ukrainian businessmen, Greene said.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden “love their son” and will support him as he continues to “rebuild” his life, the White House said in a statement.
Hunter's Gun Charges
Hunter Biden was charged with purchasing and possessing a firearm during a period of his life when he regularly used drugs. The Gun Control Act of 1968 bans users of unlawful drugs from possessing firearms, with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
However, the law could face challenges following a US Supreme Court decision last year that solidified an individual's right to possess a firearm free of government restrictions. The decision ruled that restrictions must be consistent with the views of the time of the Constitution’s authors, the report said.
A district judge in Oklahoma ruled in February, based largely on the aforementioned Supreme Court decision, that the government could not prosecute a defendant found with both a firearm and cannabis in his vehicle, the report said. In April, a judge in Texas similarly ruled against the constitutionality of the law, the report said.
The Justice Department has filed appeals in both the Oklahoma and Texas cases.