Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, arrives with wife Melissa Cohen Biden before President Biden awards the Presidential Medals of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, July 7, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Joe Biden’s son Hunter is scheduled to appear next month in federal court, where he is expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges, according to a court filing Wednesday.
A first appearance in US District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, is set for 10 a.m. ET on July 26, Judge Maryellen Noreika ordered.
The court hearing comes more than a month after Hunter Biden, 53, agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of failing to pay federal income taxes and cutting a separate deal related to a felony gun charge.
Biden’s attorney and federal prosecutors have both asked to consolidate both the tax and gun matters in one court.
NBC News reported Tuesday that US Attorney for Delaware David Weiss agreed to recommend that Biden receive a sentence of probation for tax crimes.
Biden, who has been open about his drug abuse struggles, also agreed to enter into a so-called pretrial diversion agreement in connection with a federal felony charge of possession of a firearm by a person who uses or is addicted to illegal drugs. drugs. Diversion agreements can result in criminal charges being dismissed if successfully completed.
Christopher Clark, the attorney for the president’s son, said Tuesday that in the plea agreement and diversion deal, “it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter has been resolved.”
Clark did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the judge’s order scheduling the hearing.
In a MSNBC appearance On Tuesday, Clark said he expects Hunter Biden to be released unconditionally after a court hearing. “Hunter is happy to move on with his life,” Clark said.
Noreika, 56, was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump in 2017. His nomination received bipartisan support in the Senate, which confirmed him by voice vote in 2018.
The information charging Biden with tax crimes says he didn’t pay any federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, despite earning more than $1.5 million annually and owing more than $100,000 a year. Those taxes have been reported as paid.
Other information states that Biden in 2018 possessed a revolver “despite knowing that he was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance.”
