Hunter Biden changes plea in federal tax case, admits enough evidence to convict but no wrongdoing

Hunter Biden now intends change his plea in his federal case centered on nine tax charges ahead of the jury selection that was set to begin Thursday, his lawyer has said. 

The first son intends to enter an Alford plea, a type of guilty plea in which he would acknowledge prosecutors have enough evidence to convict, but does not admit wrongdoing while accepting sentencing from the judge, according to CNN.

A grand jury originally returned an indictment on three felony tax charges and six misdemeanor charges last year. Hunter Biden previously pleaded not guilty to the charges in January.

The major reversal came shortly before jury selection was set to begin and followed a private meeting between his legal team, led by lawyer Abbe Lowell, and Judge Mark Scarsi of the Central District of California Thursday. The arrangement is not official until it is approved by the judge in court, CNN reported. 

The prosecutors led by Special Counsel David Weiss said they would object to an Alford Plea from Biden.

The trial was set to bring some of the more salacious and embarrassing details of the first son’s “extravagant” lifestyle back to the forefront as prosecutors seek to show Hunter Biden’s state of mind as he spent wildly on pornography websites, strip clubs, and drugs while allegedly failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes.