President Biden's son will plead guilty to tax evasion

According to AFP news agency, in a plea agreement with the US Attorney's Office in Delaware, Hunter Biden also admitted to owning a gun despite being a drug user.

Under the plea agreement, Hunter will also agree to a probation agreement related to one count of illegal possession of a firearm while under the influence of drugs.

The Justice Department alleges that Hunter possessed a Colt Cobra revolver in Delaware in October 2018 while knowing he was an unauthorized user and addicted to a controlled substance.

The allegations against Hunter Biden arose from an investigation by David Weiss, the US attorney for Delaware appointed by former President Donald Trump.

According to CNN, Hunter’s plea deal will have an immediate impact on President Biden’s 2024 presidential election. The plea deal is likely to keep Hunter out of prison but will be exploited by Republicans in an effort to politically damage President Biden, who has announced his re-election in 2024. Hunter has played an increasingly public role alongside his father, appearing at a state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron, at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, DC, and during a visit to the Republic of Ireland.

Following news of the plea deal, the White House said in a statement: “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”

Hunter, 53, has long been a target of attacks from Trump and his Republican allies, who have accused him of wrongdoing in business dealings involving Ukraine and China. He has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer and investment banker. He has publicly detailed his struggle to stop substance abuse. In a statement, Christopher Clark, a lawyer for Hunter Biden, said the agreement with federal prosecutors resolves the Justice Department’s long-running criminal investigation of President Biden’s son.

“I know that Mr. Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for the mistakes he made during a chaotic and addictive period in his life,” Mr. Clark said. “He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.”

Negotiations to reach a plea deal have accelerated in recent weeks. Hunter Biden’s legal team arranged a meeting with the Justice Department in April, which Weiss attended. At the meeting, Hunter Biden’s lawyers detailed why they believe Hunter Biden should not be charged. Part of the argument was that Hunter Biden had paid back taxes, including penalties.

Hunter Biden has previously told associates that he paid his tax bills. However, investigators continue to scrutinize the source of the money Hunter Biden used to pay his tax bills.

Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives is scrutinizing Hunter Biden's financial transactions and looking into how the US Justice Department handled the investigation, as well as whether other members of Biden's family were involved in overseas transactions.

Prosecutors are also looking into a 2018 incident in which a gun belonging to Hunter Biden was thrown into a trash bin in Wilmington by his then-girlfriend. Hunter Biden, meanwhile, said in media interviews in 2021 that he was addicted to drugs, raising the possibility that he violated federal law when he purchased the gun. Federal law prohibits anyone who uses drugs or is addicted to drugs from purchasing a gun.

According to News