US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden has been charged with failing to pay federal income tax and illegally possessing a weapon. According to a letter filed in the US District Court in Delaware, an agreement has been reached with the Justice Department.
As part of the agreement, made public on Tuesday, the 53-year-old will plead guilty to misdemeanour tax offences and is expected to reach an agreement with prosecutors on the felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user. It is somewhat unusual to resolve a federal criminal case at the same time the charges are filed in court, though it is not totally unheard of, the Associated Press reports.
The deal ends a long-running Justice Department investigation into Mr Biden’s second son, who has acknowledged struggling with addiction following the 2015 death of his brother, Beau Biden. It also averts a trial that would have generated days or weeks or distracting headlines for a White House that has strenuously sought to keep its distance from the Justice Department.
