LOS ANGELES — He’s the first son — and twice convicted.
For the second time in three months, Hunter Biden was convicted of federal charges after he unexpectedly copped to dodging $1.4 million in taxes Thursday, the day jury selection was supposed to begin in the case.
The budding artist, who was found guilty on felony gun raps in June, entered the shock plea to all nine charges against him in order to avoid yet another embarrassing trial that would’ve centered on his penchant for ᵴtriƥpers, pornography, luxury hotels and exotic cars.
“I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment,” Hunter Biden said in a statement. “For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty.”
Hunter Biden, seen with wife Melissa, faces up to 17 years in prison.David Buchan/New York Post
Biden, who breezed into Los Angeles federal court with his wife Melissa Cohen, still faces up to 17 years behind bars in this case — his guilty plea was not part of an agreement with prosecutors. He also could see up to 25 years on the gun raps, though he is expected to get far less in both cases.
LA prosecutors had said they planned to introduce evidence that Biden blew cash on ᵴtriƥpers and porn — all while avoiding paying taxes from 2016 through 2019.
Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell blindsided the feds early Thursday morning when he told Judge Mark Scarsi that the Biden scion intended on entering an Alford plea — a little-known technicality that would’ve allowed him to plead guilty but maintain his innocence.
A courtroom sketch shows Hunter on the stand on Thursday.AP
Hunter Biden and his wife arrive at the LA courthouse on Thursday, September 5, 2025.AP
But prosecutors with special counsel David Weiss’ team balked at the move, saying they had a mountain of evidence against Biden and that he “is not entitled to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.”
“Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” prosecutor Leo Wise said.
Even Lowell admitted that there was “overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt” as he begged Scarsi to resolve the case.
“This has been a difficult moment for him and especially his family,” Lowell said.
“He and his family don’t want to spend one more day on a period when he was addicted to drugs.”
Lowell also noted the previous gun case had cost prosecutors more than $3.8 million.
“Enough is enough,” the lawyer added.
After hours of hearings — including a 90-minute reading of the entire indictment against him — and several breaks, Scarsi finally allowed Biden to enter a standard guilty plea.
“Do you agree you committed every element of every crime in the indictment?” Scarsi asked.
“Yes,” Hunter responded, before saying “guilty” when asked how he pleaded to each charge.
He will be sentenced on Dec. 16, more than a month after the presidential election.
Thursday was the latest twist in Biden’s legal drama, which has overshadowed President Biden’s political career — he blew up a sweetheart plea deal in June 2023 in a related federal tax and gun case in Delaware, which would have let him dodge prison time altogether by pleading to misdemeanor tax offenses.
Hunter Biden had planned to take the rare Alford plea in his $1.4 million federal tax case.REUTERS
Hunter’s lawyers had insisted he receive blanket immunity as part of the agreement – which prosecutors and the judge both said they couldn’t sign off on.
The embattled businessman had been hoping to receive immunity from charges linked to alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act related to lucrative business deals with entities in China, Mexico, Romania, Russia and Ukraine during and after Joe Biden’s time as vice president.
A Delaware jury eventually convicted Biden on three felony counts related to lying about his drug addiction in order to purchase a gun — while the feds brought upgraded tax evasion charges against him in Los Angeles.
Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, arrive at federal court for jury selection for his trial on felony tax charges Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.AP
Lowell, the high-powered white-collar lawyer who’s repped Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, ripped the government for even bringing the tax case.
“There’s no doubt this case was an extreme and unusual one for the government to bring,” he said.
“Like millions of Americans, Hunter was late in filing and paying his taxes. Unlike those millions of Americans, he was charged criminally for his failures that occurred during the depths of his addiction to drugs and alcohol, and which he has rectified by paying his overdue taxes in full with interest and penalties years before he was ever charged.
“In fact, Hunter actually overpaid his taxes in the year he was charged with tax evasion. Hunter put his family first today and it was a brave and loving thing for him to do.”
Hunter, who has five 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, will be sentenced in the gun case Nov. 13 — days after the election.
“Hunter decided to enter his plea to protect those he loves from unnecessary hurt and cruel humiliation,” Lowell said.
“This plea prevents that kind of show trial that would not have provided all the facts or served any real point in justice. He will now move on to the sentencing phase, while keeping open the options to raise the many clear issues with this case on appeal.”
