Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to at least some of the nine tax charges against him in a stunning last-minute change in his criminal trial in Los Angeles.
The change was not due to a plea deal, and prosecutor Leo Wise told Judge Mark Scarsi on Thursday: “This is the first we’ve heard of this.”
The startling revelation was made by Hunter’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, in front of the judge as 120 potential jurors waited to be selected for his trial.
Lowell cited legal cases and precedents suggesting that, in entering a guilty plea, the judge would have to decide the facts of the case rather than a jury, and the judge could only use material that had already been presented in the case.
Wise said he needed time to review the legal case Lowell cited, and the judge allowed them to take a break until 11 a.m.
This surprising U-turn may be an apparent desperate strategy by the defense to try to prevent damaging and embarrassing evidence from being presented to the jury.
Hunter’s attorneys did not clarify whether he was pleading guilty to all nine charges, including three felonies, or just some of them.
“We’ll have to wait and see what they do,” Hunter’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, told DailyMail.com outside the courtroom.
The president’s son had arrived at the federal courthouse with his wife Melissa Cohen at his side on Thursday morning.
He entered the courtroom with lead attorney Mark Geragos, Abbe Lowell, Kevin Morris, former Biden aide and Hunter business partner Fran Person, as well as two other attorneys from his defense team.
The First Son, who is facing his second criminal trial this year, is charged with nine crimes, including three felonies and six misdemeanors for failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes and lying on his IRS returns.
He was driven to court from his Malibu home by his Secret Service escort in a convoy of black SUVs and was photographed entering the courtroom dressed in a navy suit and tie, holding his wife’s hand.
Among the sordid details of the case is evidence that Hunter spent tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes, drugs, hotel rooms for days-long drinking binges, subscriptions to pornographic sites and a Lamborghini rental — then deducted them on his tax return as business expenses.
He arrives in federal court in Los Angeles after a humiliating defeat in Delaware in June, where a jury found him guilty of lying about his crack addiction to buy a gun in 2018.
Hunter Biden is seen arriving at court with his wife Melissa Cohen by his side as his tax evasion trial begins in Los Angeles on Thursday
The case marks the second high-profile trial this year for Hunter, who faces multiple charges of evading $1.4 million in taxes.
The president’s scandal-hit son, 54, is due to appear in Los Angeles for jury selection for his second trial in a year in which sordid details of his life have been thrust into the spotlight.
Hunter, 54, faces the same two federal prosecutors, Leo Wise and Derek Hines, who defeated his prominent Washington, D.C., attorney, Abbe Lowell, in the previous criminal trial.
He is desperately hoping for a better outcome in this case, where a conviction could carry a much higher prison sentence of up to 17 years and $750,000 in fines.
He has replaced Lowell with famed Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos as lead counsel, known for representing Chris Brown, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Bill Clinton’s brother Roger, Michael Jackson, Colin Kaepernick, Winona Ryder and, most recently, Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen,” who is facing charges in connection with the death of Matthew Perry.
Both criminal cases were brought by special prosecutor David Weiss after a five-year investigation into Hunter’s debauched lifestyle and shady overseas dealings.
Geragos says the prosecution plans to use lurid details to ‘smear’ the First Son in front of the jury.
Hunter’s team has already suffered a series of defeats in pre-trial hearings that potentially derailed plans for his defense.
Geragos wanted psychological experts to testify to convince the jury that Hunter’s drug addiction led to his debauched behavior and alleged tax evasion, and that the childhood trauma of his mother and sister dying in a car crash in 1972 and his brother’s death from brain cancer in 2015 were to blame.
The president’s son changed lawyers ahead of his trial, hiring prominent Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos in July. He is seen arriving at the federal courthouse Thursday morning.
The criminal defense attorney previously sued Chris Brown when he was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna, and more recently Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen,” who faces charges in connection with the death of Matthew Perry.
But Judge Mark Scarsi would have none of it and ruled that Hunter’s expert, Joshua Lee, would not be allowed to testify.
In another blow to the defense, Scarsi ruled that the jury will not be told that Hunter’s multimillion-dollar tax bill, which he is accused of failing to pay, was later paid by his wealthy Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris.
At a pre-trial hearing last month, the judge warned that if the lawyers spoke in front of the jury about topics he had banned, they could face “six-figure” fines.
Prosecutors plan to introduce devastating evidence similar to that used in the Delaware gun trial, including recordings of Hunter’s own voice reading potentially incriminating excerpts from the audiobook version of his memoir, Beautiful Things, confessing to drug binges.
A group of 100 jurors were asked about their attitudes toward tax laws, their opinions on people who do not pay, their family history of drug addiction and their political activities.
During a pre-trial hearing last month, the defense suffered a major blow in the case after Judge Scarsi ruled that the jury would not be told that Hunter’s multi-million dollar tax bill, which he is accused of failing to pay, was later paid for by his wealthy Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris (pictured).
Hunter’s legal troubles come after compromising photos, videos, texts and emails of the president’s son were posted online from his abandoned laptop.
Potential jurors were selected from Los Angeles and six neighboring counties.
In the 2020 presidential election, voters sided with Hunter’s father over Donald Trump, 63% to 35%.
Judge Scarsi said he would select 12 jurors and four backup “alternates.”
Jury selection is expected to continue Thursday and Friday. Attorneys are scheduled to begin the trial with opening statements on Monday.
Both sides estimate that the trial will last eight days.
Witnesses include Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen; his brother’s widow who became Hunter’s mistress, Hallie Biden; and Lunden Roberts, whom he hired as an assistant, impregnated and then dropped from his company’s health insurance.
If convicted, Hunter could still be pardoned by Joe Biden while he is president. Biden has said he will not pardon or commute Hunter’s sentence, but he could change his mind in the weeks after the November election.
Hunter is scheduled to be sentenced in Delaware for his gun crimes on Nov. 13, eight days after the presidential election.