What’s in Hunter Biden’s plea deal and what happens next?

The Explainer

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses and admit to the facts of a gun charge in a deal with prosecutors that will likely not require him to spend time in prison, according to documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

The tentative agreement – which must still be approved by a federal judge – comes from a lengthy Department of Justice investigation into the president’s second son. Hunter Biden has previously admitted to spiraling into a dark period of drug use and other personal misbehavior around the time his older brother, Beau, died in 2015.

But it is very unlikely that any such deal will put a stop to the separate efforts of Republican lawmakers to probe the younger Mr. Biden’s actions, including his foreign business dealings in Ukraine and China and some allegations that he cut his father in on deals.

“Actually, it should enhance our investigation because the DOJ should not be able to withhold any information now,” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.

Thus “Hunter Biden,” as an issue and political symbol, will almost certainly figure in the presidential election race to come.

What’s in the deal?

Over the past five years, federal prosecutors have sifted through the events of a chaotic period in Hunter Biden’s life. A Yale-trained lawyer, Mr. Biden made large sums of money as a businessman and investor through the early 2000s. But he struggled with addiction problems during that time, particularly after the death of his older brother, Beau.

In 2017, he earned more than $1.5 million, but did not pay owed taxes of more than $100,000, according to court documents. In 2018 he made a similar amount – and owed a similar unpaid tax debt.

Mr. Biden eventually paid the taxes in 2021. But court papers indicate that he has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of failing to pay his 2017 and 2018 taxes on time. Prosecutors in return plan to recommend a sentence of probation for those counts, according to media reports.

The gun charge stems from a purchase Mr. Biden made on Oct. 12, 2018 – a .38-caliber pistol. Filling out a federal form at a gun store in Wilmington, Delaware, he answered “no” to the question of whether he was using drugs at the time.

That period of time was in fact a low point in Mr. Biden’s life as he struggled with addiction to crack cocaine. 

Court documents indicate he is being charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user and addicted to a controlled substance. But Mr. Biden has agreed to enter a pretrial diversion agreement on the charge, an option often given to first time, nonviolent offenders. If he successfully completes a diversion program, commonly involving treatment or education, the gun charge is likely to be expunged from his record. 

“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,” said one of his attorneys, Chris Clark, in a written statement.

Is he getting special treatment?

Republicans quickly charged that Mr. Biden was receiving favorable terms from a Department of Justice overseen by his father. They compared it to the recent federal indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges related to misuse of classified documents and obstruction of justice.

They noted that the Justice Department filed no charges related to Mr. Biden’s relationship with foreign entities. He sat on the board of Burisma, a Ukranian energy firm, at a time when his father served as vice president and was involved in U.S. policy toward Ukraine, and served on the board of a China-based private equity fund from 2013 to 2020.

The House Oversight Committee under Rep. James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, is currently investigating what members say is evidence that Mr. Biden was funneling foreign money to his father.

“This is the epitome of the politicization and weaponization of Joe Biden’s Department of Justice as they give a slap on the wrist to President Biden’s son – a tax fraud and corrupt pay-to-play criminal,” said Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, on Tuesday.

Democrats charged in return that the allegations concerning President Biden and his son’s activities have proven much less than convincing under close examination. Some legal experts add that the charges prosecutors have brought against Mr. Biden seem typical for a first-time offender who has paid back his taxes and attempted to turn his life around.

“The plea deal looks fairly standard in that it involves an individual with substance abuse problems that will be required to abide by a variety of conditions as part of the plea deal, such as drug testing,” says Paul M. Collins Jr., a professor of legal studies and political science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, via email.

What happens now?

The deal must be approved by a federal judge to enter into force.

It is possible that this represents the end of the Justice Department’s Biden investigation, which has been carried out by the U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, a Trump appointee. Biden attorney Mr. Clark said in a statement that “it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved.”

But there is at least one hint that it is not entirely closed, as a Department of Justice press release announcing the charges on Tuesday noted that “the investigation is ongoing.”

Meanwhile, the president and first lady reiterated their support for the long-troubled youngest son of the family.

“The president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” said White House spokesman Ian Sams in a statement. “We will have no further comment.”