Hunter Biden intends to change his plea in his federal tax case

The son of US President Joe Biden is facing multiple misdemeanors and felonies, alleging that he failed to pay at least $1.4 million (£1.06 million) in taxes over a four-year period during which he said he was battling drug addiction.

In June, he was found guilty of charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 after prosecutors said he lied on a mandatory gun purchase form and stated that he was neither an illegal drug user nor a drug addict.

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell announced Hunter Biden's plans to change his plea, but did not provide further details.

Mark Geragos, another of Hunter Biden's lawyers, said in a text message that the president's son intends to enter what is known as an Alford plea, an unusual plea in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict.

“There is overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt,” Lowell told the judge. “That can be resolved today. It's not a complicated matter.”

He already faces prison time after a Delaware jury found him guilty in June of lying on a 2018 federal form to purchase a gun he owned for 11 days.

Hunter Biden entered the courtroom holding the hand of his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and accompanied by Secret Service agents.

He initially pleaded not guilty to charges related to his 2016-2019 taxes, and his lawyers have indicated they will argue he did not act “willfully” or with the intent to break the law, in part because of his well-documented struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.

U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, appointed by former President Donald Trump, imposed some restrictions on what jurors can hear about the traumatic events that Hunter Biden's family, friends and lawyers say led to his drug addiction.

The judge barred lawyers from linking his struggle with drug addiction to the 2015 cancer death of his brother Beau Biden or the car accident that killed his mother and sister when he was a toddler.

He also rejected a proposed defense expert to testify on the subject of addiction.

The indictment alleges that Hunter Biden lived a lavish life while violating tax law by spending his money on things like strippers and luxury hotels – “in short, everything except his taxes.”

Hunter Biden's lawyers had asked Mr Scarsi to also prevent prosecutors from highlighting details of his spending that they said amounted to “reputation destruction,” including payments to strippers or pornographic websites.

In court documents, the judge said he would “strictly control” the presentation of potentially offensive evidence.

Meanwhile, prosecutors could provide more details about Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, which are at the heart of Republican investigations into the Biden family that often seek to link the president to an alleged influence scheme without evidence.

The special counsel's team has said it plans to inform jurors about Hunter Biden's work for a Romanian businessman who allegedly tried to “influence U.S. government policy” when Joe Biden was vice president.

The defense accused prosecutors of publishing details about Hunter Biden's work for the Romanian in court documents in order to boost media coverage and influence the jury.

Sentencing in the Hunter Biden case in Delaware will take place on November 13. He faces up to 25 years in prison, but as a first-time offender he will likely receive a much shorter sentence or avoid prison altogether.