Hunter Bidens sudden admission of guilt On Thursday, the tax evasion charges against him were met with fierce objections from prosecutors, with his lawyer saying he was prepared to forfeit the trial and file an Alford plea.
The surprise came in a federal court in Los Angeles, where more than 100 potential jurors had been summoned for questioning. Hunter Biden eventually pleaded guilty to nine counts in the case, which accused him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years.
Before Hunter Biden pleaded guilty, his attorney said he wanted to enter an Alford plea and forgo a trial.
“This can be resolved today,” Abbe Lowell told the judge.
However, the Public Prosecution Service objected and the judge took a recess.
An Alford plea is named after a 1970 U.S. Supreme Court case involving Henry Alford of North Carolina. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder to avoid the death penalty, but still claimed his innocence. The Supreme Court said there was no constitutional violation.
The Ministry of Justice says An Alford plea is when someone “maintains his or her innocence of the charge to which he or she wishes to plead guilty.”
Federal prosecutors may not grant an Alford request “except in the most unusual circumstances” and only with approval from senior officials in Washington, according to a Justice Department manual.
“I want to make one thing crystal clear, and that is the United States is opposed to an Alford plea,” prosecutor Leo Wise said in court. “Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty. He has no right to plead guilty on special terms that apply only to him.”
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi said he didn’t need government approval. But after a recess, Hunter Biden’s lawyers dropped the effort and he pleaded guilty.
Most states have some form of Alford plea, although traditional guilty pleas are more common.
In 2018, John Dylan Adams filed an Alford petition in Tennessee in the killing of nursing student Holly Bobo in exchange for a 35-year prison sentence. Prosecutors said he was less involved than an older brother serving a life sentence.
In Arkansas, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley, known as the “West Memphis Three”, were released from prison in 2011 after the deaths of three boys. They were allowed to maintain their innocence, but pleaded guilty in exchange for 18 years in prison and reduced sentences for time served. They are are currently trying to clear their names.
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