By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Hunter Biden during a 2014 meeting with India's prime minister

June 20, 2021  (Washington D.C.) The son of President Joe Biden, has reached a plea bargain deal with the U.S. Department of Justice. Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of filing his 2017 and 2018 taxes late, according to court documents released today, the New York Times reports.  A judge must still approve of the plea deal; Biden is expected to appear in federal court in Delaware for arraignment.

Hunter Biden will not be sent to prison or charged for failing to disclose drug use when he purchased a hand gun in 2018, provided he abides by terms of a two-year probation that includes remaining drug-free and agreeing to never own a gun again.  This sentence is consistent with how tax and gun registration misdemeanors are customarily handled for other non-violent first-time offenders, though questions remain over whether or not the Justice Department has dropped or is continuing to investigating questions over Hunter Biden's controversial actions while serving on a Ukrainian energy company's board of directors.

President Biden has avoided commenting on his son’s legal issues. A  White House spokesman, Ian Sams, issued a statement which reads, “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”

Former President Donald Trump, who is awaiting trial on criminal charges relating to mishandling of classified documents and alleged hush money payments made to a porn star, criticized the deal on social media, claiming, “Our system is  BROKEN.”