Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, will plead guilty to federal charges, US media reported on Tuesday afternoon.
He has been charged with failing to pay federal income tax and illegally possessing a weapon and has reached an agreement with the Justice Department, according to letter filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware.
As part of the agreement, which was only made public on Tuesday, Hunter Biden will plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and is expected to reach an agreement with prosecutors on the felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user.
His lawyer Christopher Clark said: “I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life.
“He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.”
According to court filings, Biden received taxable income in excess of $1.5 million in 2017 and 2018, but he did not pay income tax those years despite owing in excess of $100,000. The two counts are misdemeanors.
His attorney, Christopher Clark, said the government would file a firearm charge against his client that would be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement, an alternative to prosecution that is sometimes used to allow defendants to avoid prison time or a criminal conviction.
The gun charge states Biden possessed a handgun, a Colt Cobra 38 special, despite knowing he was a drug user for 11 days in October 2018.
The count carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, but the Justice Department says he has reached a pretrial agreement on that charge.
US legal experts said it was 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 deal ends a long-running Justice Department investigation into Biden’s second son, who has acknowledged struggling with addiction following the 2015 death of his brother Beau .
It also averts a trial that would have generated distracting headlines for a White House that has strenuously sought to keep its distance from the Justice Department.
The news comes as congressional Republicans pursue their own investigations into nearly every facet of Hunter Biden’s business dealings, including examining foreign payments and other aspects of his finances.
It also comes days after a 37-count indictment came down against former President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents on his Florida estate, another case with even more dramatic political implications.
President Biden is not the first holder of the US’s highest office to be embarrassed by the legal problems of a family member.
Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy was investigated by the government after he hosted members of the Libyan government and accepted money from them while working as a lobbyist while Bill Clinton’s half-brother Roger served prison time for cocaine dealing.
