The US Attorney for the District of Delaware charged Hunter Biden, US President Joe Biden’s son, on Tuesday with tax and firearm offenses.
Biden faces two tax-related charges. Those charges include two violations of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 which criminalizes willfully failing to file a tax return, supply tax information or pay taxes. The first alleges he failed to pay $100,000 worth of income tax by April 2018 on his reported taxable income in 2017 of $1.5 million. He faces the same charge for 2018, in which Department of Justice (DOJ) officials claims he once again failed to pay $100,000 worth of income tax by the April 2019 deadline for his 2018 earnings. Biden plans to plead guilty to both misdemeanor tax charges.
The firearm charge stems from a period of time in October 2018 where Biden allegedly knowingly possessed a firearm while addicted to a controlled substance. Specifically, the DOJ document defines him as a “drug addict” under 21 § U.S.C. 802 and claims he had a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver he obtained via interstate commerce. He is charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which makes it illegal for a person to transport or receive a firearm purchased outside of a state without a license. The 2018 version of 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2) sets out the penalties for violations of § 922(g), which include a fine and/or a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Biden will enter a pretrial diversion agreement for the firearm charge, which allows individuals to avoid pleading to a crime and instead permits them to complete requirements set by a judge to avoid a judgment.
Previously, Hunter Biden disclosed he was under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware in 2020 regarding his taxes.