Hunter Biden, the son of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, withdrew this Wednesday the guilty plea for tax crimes that he had agreed with the prosecutors since he was not guaranteed that he could get rid of all the charges against him.
The president’s son decided to plead not guilty after the judge in charge of the case questioned the validity of the agreement by which he acknowledged not having declared the income of 2017 and 2018 to the Treasury, because said agreement included getting rid of prosecution for another charge, that of possession of a firearm -which is illegal when it comes to a person with addictions-.
The hearing held in a federal court in Wilmington this Wednesday ended without a final agreement and with Biden changing his statement after a session full of interruptions and position changes.
Biden attended the hearing in Wilmington, in the state of Delaware, to plead guilty to two minor tax offenses for not having declared to the Treasury the income he obtained in 2017 and 2018 and the prosecutors, for their part, complied with the agreement and requested probation for him.
The pact included the resignation of the Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute Biden for another case in which he is also accused, that of possessing a firearm despite having addiction problems, which could carry a sentence of several years in prison.
However, the judge in charge of the case and who has to pass sentence, Maryellen Noreika, nominated by former President Donald Trump, expressed doubts during the hearing about whether said agreement could include Biden’s immunity in the case of possession of a firearm. fire. For this reason, the agreement was momentarily broken and was left hanging by a thread until it was examined by the parties and the judge.
As reported by CNN, during the hearing the judge expressed her doubts about whether the prosecutors’ investigation had been sufficient or whether it was even necessary to restart it, an issue that according to US media is not common.
Prosecutor David Weiss, who was appointed by Trump and whom Biden kept in his post, has led this investigation.
In her daily press conference, the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, declared this Wednesday that Hunter Biden is “a private citizen”, who does not hold any public office, and that this issue is a “private matter “.
He explained that President Biden “loves his son and supports him as he rebuilds his life,” but also stressed that the investigation is “independent” of the government and is led by a Trump-appointed prosecutor.
Biden’s political rivals have used these inquiries to cast doubt on the son’s business dealings abroad and to paint the president’s family as corrupt.
This investigation was opened in 2018 during the term of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) and has been used by Republicans since 2020 to attack the Democratic president, whom they accuse of not having made any effort to bring this investigation to the end.
Just yesterday, the leader of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, threatened to open an impeachment trial against Biden, although the numbers are not enough to remove the president.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project