Hunter Biden, long-embattled son of U.S. President Joe Biden, has reportedly accepted a plea agreement in which he will accept a guilty verdict on two lower-level “misdemeanor” counts of failing to pay federal income taxes, according to American news station NBC News.
It reportedly includes a provision in which the Donald Trump-appointed U.S. attorney will recommend probation in lieu of jail time.
This development appears to conclude the expansive, five-year investigation by federal prosecutors. President Biden’s administration wisely retained the existing U.S. attorney to avoid obvious charges of a conflict of interest.
However, Mr. Trump responded with a demonstrable lack of satisfaction with the expected verdict, saying, “The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere ‘traffic ticket.’ Our system is BROKEN,” he tweeted, in his trademark hyperbolic shout.
The younger Biden has spent much of his adult life addicted to drugs. He has another pending charge–one relating to firearm possession subsequent to a conviction related to that battle with drugs–but that it not expected to be a major player in this case.