Weiss charged Biden in federal court in Los Angeles with three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning around $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. The indictment against him argued that Biden "engaged in a four-year scheme" to not pay the federal taxes, owed through 2016 to 2019 and to evade being assessed for how much he owed for tax year 2018 "when he filed false returns in or about February 2020." (Related: State Department report shows Hunter Biden sought the government's help for Ukrainian gas company Burisma.)
Weiss claims that the money he should have paid in taxes was instead spent on "drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes."
In furtherance of this years-long scheme, Weiss accused Biden of subverting "the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco PC, by withdrawing millions" from the company "outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform."
Hunter initially pleaded not guilty to the tax charges. His case was set to begin jury selection on Thursday when Abbe Lowell, his attorney, said that the president's son intended to switch his plea to guilty.
The decision shocked the court, with federal prosecutor Leo Wise telling the court "This is the first we are hearing about this."
Hunter remains free on bond. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Prosecutors blindsided by Hunter Biden's sudden decision to plead guilty
Sources indicate that Biden's decision to plead guilty is "not a done deal" for the presidential son and that it is currently just an offer the defense has put forward.
Biden's decision to switch to a guilty plea also came after prosecutors objected to an earlier attempt to enter what is known as an "Alford plea," which is when a defendant pleads guilty because of the overwhelming strength of the evidence against him or her while maintaining their innocence.
Lowell attempted to put forward the possibility of an Alford plea, telling the judge that Biden "will agree that … if he went to trial there's evidence to convict beyond a reasonable doubt."
However, Wise countered that this is not good enough, and told District Court Judge Mark Scarsi, who is overseeing the trial, that such a plea "is not in the public interest. It's contrary to the rule of law and we think it's an injustice."
"Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty," Wise added. "I want to make it crystal clear: The U.S. opposes an Alford plea."
When this failed, Lowell attempted to get the court to agree to Biden entering what is known as an open plea, where a defendant pleads guilty to all charges and leaves the fate of their sentencing in the hands of the judge without an agreed-upon recommendation from prosecutors.
"Mr. Biden will agree that the elements of each offense have been satisfied," said Lowell.
Scarsi had Biden sworn in to enter the plea, a long process that had Wise reading the entire 56-page indictment in open court.
When the reading was done, Scarsi asked Biden: "Do you agree you committed every element of every crime in counts one through nine in the indictment?"
"Yes," Biden responded, before pleading guilty to all nine charges against him.
The plea spares Biden from a public trial, with prosecutors reportedly having prepared over two dozen witnesses to testify against him, some of whom were expected to offer very embarrassing and salacious testimony about his spending and drug use.
Hunter faces a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison. His sudden guilty plea will likely be considered, among other factors, and he will likely spend far less than the maximum time behind bars.
Watch this news segment from ABC News discussing Hunter Biden's decision to plead guilty to all tax charges in a last-minute bid to avoid a public trial.
This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.
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