Jonathan Turley rips Hunder Biden for plea change in tax evasion case, says he lost his 'game of chicken'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hunter Biden's sudden change of heart to plead guilty to federal tax charges has raised eyebrows with legal expert Jonathan Turley saying it is a lost "game of chicken."
The son of President Joe Biden was set to face trial on charges related to a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes on Thursday, September 5. However, in a last-minute turn of events, Hunter Biden opted to plead guilty.
Hunter Biden was 'insane not to plead guilty' before Jonathan Turley
Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert, said it was "not uncommon to see plea deals occur before trials."
"But in this case, many of us have been writing for months that Hunter Biden was perfectly insane not to plead guilty. Timing is important," Turley said.
'You can get a better deal if you plead early rather than late," he told Fox News.
"It's sort of like waiting for the water to reach the deck on the Titanic before you ask about swimming lessons," Turley added.
Jonathan Turley questions lack of intelligent design for Hunter Biden offering plea change
The prosecution while trying to change the plea into guilty said that the evidence against Hunter Biden was "overwhelming", and he does not want another trial.
They offered what is called an Alford plea where the defendant pleads guilty but denies having committed crimes due to the evidence collected which would prove them guilty.
Turley said it was a "sweetheart deal" and "the defense basically sort of tipped the table over and said, 'well, we're not going to cooperate."
"The Department of Justice later said that they still wanted to get a plea with Hunter, but they blamed the defense for its position. So there's a lack of intelligent design here" Turley continued.
"I mean, in some ways, you could say, well, this is just a game of chicken, but if it is, they lost. By pleading guilty on the eve of the trial, you don't have much to trade away," Turley added.
Over 100 jurours were in the courthouse to begin the process of picking a panel for Hunter Bidens trial
The prosecution maintained that the evidence against Hunter Biden is overwhelming.
Around 125 potential jurors had been brought to the courthouse to begin the process of picking the panel that would decide whether he’s guilty of misdemeanor and felony charges.
"Hunter Biden is not innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty," prosecutor Leo Wise argued to the plea deal according to the Associated Press.
Hunter Biden's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told the judge that the president's son wants to resolve the case with an Alford plea.
"Biden is prepared, because of the public and private interest, to proceed today and finish this."
Hunter Biden's decision to plead guilty to federal tax charges may be a strategic move to avoid a second criminal trial in just months. In June, he was convicted in Delaware on three felony charges related to a gun he purchased in 2018.
