Hunter Speaks Up After Guilty Plea

Hunter Biden, convicted felon and son of President Joe Biden, issued a statement on Thursday following his decision to plead guilty to nine tax counts.

He expressed his desire to spare his family from enduring another criminal trial.

On Thursday, in a Los Angeles federal court, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to three felonies and six misdemeanors without a deal with prosecutors to lessen the penalties he faces. These include a maximum prison sentence of 17 years and a maximum fine exceeding $1 million, in addition to the penalties from his conviction on three firearm-related felonies in June.

“I went to trial in Delaware not realizing the anguish it would cause my family, and I will not put them through it again,” Hunter Biden said in a statement. “I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment. For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty. Like millions of Americans, I failed to file and pay my taxes on time. For that I am responsible. As I have stated, addiction is not an excuse, but it is an explanation for some of my failures at issue in this case.”

The first son stated that he could never repay his family for their support and for helping him through his darkest moments.

“But I can protect them from being publicly humiliated for my failures,” he said. “For anyone now going through the scourge of addiction, please know there is a light at the end of that seemingly endless tunnel. I was where you are now. Don’t quit right before the miracle.”