Hunter Biden surprised prosecutors and legal watchers Thursday with his decision to plead guilty to nine criminal charges related to his failure to file and/or pay taxes between 2016 and 2019. Though Hunter initially intended to enter an Alford plea, in which he wouldn’t admit guilt, he eventually entered a straight guilty plea without any type of deal from prosecutors as to sentencing.
While Alford pleas are rare, it’s even rarer for a defendant to straight-up plead guilty to every single count they’re charged with and without any concessions from prosecutors on punishment – especially when that defendant could face 17 years in prison and $1.35 million in fines.
So why would Hunter Biden do such a thing? Obviously, he has one huge advantage that other defendants don’t have: his father is the sitting President of the United States and has the power to pardon him.
But Hunter could have availed himself of that option even if he’d gone to trial and been convicted, though that might not have gone over well in the court of public opinion after two-plus weeks of detailed, sordid testimony about Hunter’s debauchery was presented. […]
— Read More: redstate.com