Hunter Biden pleads guilty to tax charges

Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa, leave federal court in Los Angeles

'I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment'

(Image credit: Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images)

published 6 September 2024

What happened

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges yesterday, surprising prosecutors and the judge overseeing the case in Los Angeles.

"I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment," Biden said. He added that decisions by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi meant the jury "would never had heard" how his former crack cocaine addiction contributed to his tax evasion "or that I had paid every penny of my back taxes including penalties."

"Tax evasion is common," The Washington Post said, "but criminal charges for tax evasion are rare" and sentences are typically light. Before pleading guilty, Biden offered an Alford plea — accepting the charges while maintaining his innocence — but prosecutors strongly objected. The "atmosphere in the courtroom" was "tense, clamorous and chaotic," The New York Times said, but "much of the legal drama" was "drained of its national significance" the moment Biden's father, President Joe Biden, "withdrew from the 2024 race in July."

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Hunter Biden Tax Evasion

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.