Hunter Biden, the president’s son, landed new tax crime charges Thursday in California, adding legal troubles to ongoing criminal and congressional investigations of his conduct.
Here’s where his criminal charges stand now:
Short-lived plea deal
Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss began an investigation into Hunter Biden in 2018 over allegations that he cheated on his taxes and illegally purchased a gun.
Weiss and Biden’s legal team reached a plea agreement early this year, in which Biden agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor tax charge in exchange for the gun charges being dropped. He would have faced two years probation.
But that deal did not last long, as it fell through following criticism that it was too lenient to Biden.
House Republicans decried the agreement as a “sweetheart deal” only reached to save face for the president.
In August, the Department of Justice appointed Weiss as a federal special counsel investigating the younger Biden, allowing Weiss additional investigatory powers and the ability to pursue cases outside of Delaware.
First indictment
Weiss brought his first indictment against Biden in September, filing three gun charges. The case alleges that Hunter Biden lied on a firearm purchasing form, claiming that he was not using drugs when at the time he was.
Because he lied on the form, Biden illegally possessed the firearm, prosecutors argue.
Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges in October, and he has vowed to fight the case in court.
“It is a unique and unjustified charge. Hunter owned an unloaded gun for 11 days,” attorney Abbe Lowell said in a CNN interview in September. “There has never been a charge like this that has been brought in the United States.”
Congressional investigation
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee launched an investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged conduct, as well as the rest of the Biden family, earlier this year. Republicans on the committee have repeatedly held up Biden’s conduct as a reflection of his father, whom they have pushed to impeach.
Committee activity has centered on a pair of IRS whistleblowers, who alleged they were aware of tax crimes committed by Hunter Biden that were not pursued.
Biden’s attorneys sued the IRS over their testimony, saying they improperly released his private tax information to Congress as part of the investigation. An FBI official also contested a whistleblower’s claim that the Department of Justice pushed back on charges for Biden.
Hunter Biden agreed to sit to testify for the committee last week, though only in a public setting. Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has objected to that demand, instead proposing a closed-door deposition first.
“The subpoenas Mr. Biden has received compel him to appear before the Committees for a deposition; they are not mere suggestions open to Mr. Biden’s interpretation or preference,” Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote in a letter to Lowell last week
Comer threatened Wednesday to hold Biden in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t testify.
“A [public] hearing would ensure transparency and truth in these proceedings,” Lowell argued.
The investigation is ongoing, and the committee has not recommended criminal charges against Hunter Biden, though a vote on moving forward with the president’s impeachment could come as soon as next week.
Second indictment
Weiss filed a second set of charges against Biden on Thursday, focusing on the tax fraud allegations. Nine charges — three felonies and six misdemeanors — allege that Biden dodged about $1.4 million in owed taxes.
“Hunter Biden engaged in a four-year scheme in which he chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns,” prosecutors wrote in a Thursday night press release.
The charges are based in California, where Biden lived at the time.
“Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature,” prosecutors wrote. “In short, everything but his taxes.”
Biden can face as many as 17 years in prison for the charges, if prosecuted. His attorney claimed the charges are politically motivated.
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” Lowell said in a statement.