Hunter Biden to change plea in federal tax evasion case

President Joe Biden’s son changed his previously entered not guilty plea in his federal tax evasion case, according to the Associated Press, citing Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell. Lowell informed California U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi that his client would take an Alford plea less than an hour before the scheduled jury selection. Biden faced both misdemeanor and felony charges of failing to pay $1.4 million dollars in taxes over the span of four years.

What is an Alford plea? When taking an Alford plea, a defendant acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence for a guilty verdict, but do not directly plead guilty and technically maintain their innocence. Many speculate Biden wanted to avoid a second federal trial in less than four months. A Delaware court convicted Biden of lying on a federal gun purchase form in June, for which he may receive prison time. Judge Scarsi, appointed by former President Donald Trump, will still need to accept Biden’s plea for a trial to be avoided.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report for more on Biden’s June conviction.