Hunter Biden pleads guilty in federal tax case, legal expert weighs in
Sep 5, 2024, 10:14 AM | Updated: 3:42 pm
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Hunter Biden pleaded to guilty to federal charges related to his taxes on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
Biden had originally pleaded not guilty to failing to pay over $1 million in taxes in California.
A segment from KSL NewsRadio’s Dave & Dujanovic has been edited for brevity and clarity.
KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas joined the show to discuss the development and said he was not surprised by the news after Biden’s recent conviction on gun charges.
Debbie Dujanovic: On the tax evasion, the allegation in the indictment is that he had engaged in a multi-year scheme to not pay almost a million and a half in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019. And, maybe even a little bit longer than that.
Skordas: He is going to have to face a trial. If you want to go to trial as a convicted felon, that’s not a good start with a jury. They had already offered a plea bargain on the tax case as you recall, a year ago. He was literally before a judge ready to enter into an agreement on that case and then everything fell apart. So, the machinery was already in place for that case to be resolved and now that it is, or at least it looks like it’s going to. I think that’s that makes a lot of sense from both sides.
Related: Jury deliberations begin in Hunter Biden trial
Dave Noriega: Now, Hunter Biden did face 17 years in prison, according to CBS News, with this tax evasion case. What do you think will actually happen? I know obviously that’s worst-case scenario. But what is the possibility now or how much, how easy is the sentence going to be now that he’s pleaded guilt?
Skordas: But by accepting a plea bargain, by coming before the court and saying ‘I’m pleading guilty. I am accepting responsibility for this.’ It makes a tremendous difference in what his sentencing guidelines will be. The judge can still impose a significant prison term and may very well do that.
But anytime you can get a defendant before a judge and say ‘I’m guilty. I’m sorry. How can I make it right?’ That sentencing is going to go much better because the whole concept of acceptance of responsibility is paramount when a person’s being sentenced before a judge.
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