Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to at least some of the nine tax evasion charges against him, in a stunning last-minute reversal at his criminal trial in Los Angeles.
The change was not due to a plea deal, with prosecutor Leo Wise telling Judge Mark Scarsi on Thursday: ‘this is the first we’re hearing of this’.
The shock revelation was made by Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell in front of the judge, while 120 potential jurors waited next door to be selected for his trial.
Lowell cited legal cases and precedents suggesting that by pleading guilty, the judge would have to decide on the facts of the case rather than a jury, and the judge could only use material that has already been filed in the case.
Wise said he needed time to review the legal case Lowell cited, and the judge allowed them to take a break until 11am.
The shocking U-turn is an apparent Hail Mary strategy by the defense to try to stop damaging and embarrassing evidence being presented to the jury.
Hunter’s lawyers did not clarify whether he was pleading guilty to all nine charges including three felonies, or just some of them.
‘We’ll have to wait and see what they do,’ Hunter’s attorney Mark Geragos told DailyMail.com outside the courtroom.
In court Lowell told Judge Scarsi that Hunter would be taking an ‘Alford plea’, meaning he would accept a guilty verdict while maintaining his innocence.
Lowell also told the judge that they had previously never accepted a plea deal, because the only offer the government made was to plead guilty to all charges.
His statement may suggest that Hunter is now deciding to plead guilty to only some of his charges. He faces a maximum of 17 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
The president’s son had arrived at federal court earlier Thursday morning with wife Melissa Cohen at his side.
He entered the courtroom with lead attorney Mark Geragos, Abbe Lowell, Kevin Morris, ex Biden aide and Hunter’s business partner Fran Person, as well as two other attorneys on his defense team.
A former federal prosecutor, who asked not to be named, told DailyMail.com that one possible explanation for the sudden change, was to get a quick verdict without a salacious trial, followed by a pardon or commutation from Hunter’s father, President Joe Biden.
Biden has already promised that he would do neither – but that was before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
As long as he is president, through January 2025, he has the power to reduce or forgive any sentence his son receives.
The maximum sentence for Hunter’s tax crimes is 17 years in federal prison and a $750,000 fine.