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Hunter Biden

Photo: Al Drago / POOL / EPA

US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, has appeared in court in the state of Delaware. Television images showed the 53-year-old arriving at the court in Wilmington. In June, after several years of investigations, the U.S. judiciary charged him with two tax offenses and a violation of gun laws.

The prosecutor's office had announced that Hunter Biden had agreed to plead guilty to the tax offences and to enter into an agreement with regard to the weapons offence in order to avert a trial. A court must approve such a deal. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.

It is unusual for a president's son to be prosecuted for several offences and to appear in court. According to the prosecutor's office, his taxable income in 2017 and 2018 was more than 1.5 million US dollars (about 1.37 million euros). However, he did not pay the income tax of more than 100,000 US dollars due at the federal level on time in both years.

Illicit firearm

He was also charged with illegally possessing a firearm in 2018. When buying the weapon, he concealed his drug addiction. As a drug user, he should not have acquired a weapon. Hunter Biden himself had made his long-standing drug addiction public in a book.

It is not uncommon for criminal proceedings to reach agreements in which the prosecution makes certain concessions to an accused person in exchange for a guilty plea. As a result of this deal, Hunter Biden could now get off with a suspended sentence.

The process is politically very sensitive. Joe Biden wants to run for a second term in the 2024 election. His son has been the target of political attacks from the ranks of the Republicans for years, above all from former President Donald Trump. He made allegations of corruption against Hunter Biden in connection with business in Ukraine and China. Investigations are underway in Congress.

Trump, in turn, has been indicted in recent months in New York and Florida for various allegations. Trump faces trials in both cases – as well as a possible third indictment. Several Republicans therefore complain that there is a two-tier justice system in the United States, in which Trump is treated with all severity and presidential son Hunter Biden is spared.

til/dpa