Hunter Biden has promised to plead guilty to tax evasion, apparently surprising federal prosecutors who were ready to begin his trial.
Biden has previously denied allegations that he deliberately avoided paying $1.4m (£1m) in income tax from 2016 to 2019.
Biden initially said he wanted to enter what is known as an Alford plea — where he would plead guilty while maintaining his innocence — but prosecutors objected.
He then said he would simply plead guilty, but prosecutors also objected to the latest offer, according to CBS News, the BBC’s news partner.
His last-minute withdrawal, first announced in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday as jury selection began, could lead to his second felony conviction this year.
Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said that his client wants the case to end on Thursday “so that he can take care of himself”, to prevent his friends and family from testifying about what happened “while he was under the influence of drugs”.
When Judge Mark Scarsi asked Biden if he understood the maximum sentence he could face is 15 years in prison, the president’s son said: “I understand.”
The judge also warned Biden that fines could range from $500,000 to $1m.
President Joe Biden previously said he would not use his executive power to pardon his son.
Prosecutors – representing President Biden’s Justice Department – said they were “shocked” by the proposed Alford plea and were reluctant to accept the deal if it allowed Hunter Biden to maintain his innocence.
“Hunter Biden is innocent. Hunter Biden is guilty,” lead prosecutor Leo Wise said in court.
“We came to court today to try this case.”
Biden previously sought to dismiss the case, saying the Justice Department’s investigation was politically motivated and targeted because Republican lawmakers were working to impeach his father.
He also said that the special counsel in the case, David Weiss, was appointed illegally.
The arguments were dismissed by Judge Scarsi, a Trump appointee who is presiding over the case and is considering whether to accept Biden’s new plea.
The president’s son was indicted on three tax charges and six in December. This includes failure to file and pay taxes, tax evasion and filing false returns.
According to the indictment, Biden earned $7m from his foreign business between 2016-19.
The lawsuit also said he spent about $5m during that time on “everything but his taxes”.
Those purchases included drugs, bridesmaids, luxury hotels, luxury cars and clothing, according to the lawsuit, which Biden allegedly lied about as business expenses.
Prosecutors said Biden’s actions amounted to a “four-year plan”.
“Each year in which he failed to pay the tax, the defendant had enough money to pay some or all of the tax that he did not pay on time,” the indictment said. “But he chose not to pay them.”
His tax evasion conviction is Biden’s second criminal conviction this year.
In June, he was convicted of gun and drug charges, becoming the first son of a sitting US president to be convicted of a crime.
Specifically, Biden was convicted of three felonies related to his purchase of a handgun, in 2018, while battling a drug problem, and lying about his drug use on a federal form to purchase a gun.
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