On Thursday, in a surprising development, Hunter Biden entered a guilty plea on all nine federal tax charges against him, abruptly halting a lengthy trial right before jury selection was set to begin, thus avoiding a potentially embarrassing examination of his struggles with crack cocaine addiction.

U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi has scheduled the sentencing for December 16. Previously, Judge Scarsi had expressed hesitation about a proposal from Biden to take an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to plead guilty while not admitting to any wrongdoing, acknowledging only that the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction.

The team from Justice Department special counsel David Weiss opposed the Alford plea, insisting that Biden should admit his guilt.

Ultimately, Biden pleaded guilty to three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning his failure to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019.

In his statement, Biden remarked that “like millions of Americans,” he did not pay his taxes on time, and he takes responsibility for that. He added, “Addiction is not an excuse, but it does explain some of the failures at play here. During my addiction, I was focused on survival, not on my taxes. However, the jury wouldn’t have learned this, nor would they know that I’ve paid all my back taxes in full, including penalties.”

The tax charges carry a potential maximum sentence of 17 years, but it’s expected that Biden will receive a lesser sentence. Previously, in June, he was convicted of three federal gun charges for providing false information about drug use when he purchased a handgun in 2018, which could lead to a maximum of 25 years in prison.

This plea effectively halted a trial that was set to focus on a time in Biden’s life marked by crack cocaine addiction. During the gun trial, testimonies from his ex-wife and other partners highlighted their deep concerns regarding his drug abuse.

Biden expressed, “I went to trial in Delaware without realizing the pain it would cause my family, and I refuse to put them through that again. When it became evident that the same prosecutors were more interested in humiliating me than in delivering justice for my actions during addiction, I saw no other choice. I cannot subject my family to further suffering, invasions of privacy, or unnecessary shame.”

Prosecutors have contended that Biden lived lavishly, spending money on travel, drugs, and escorts while neglecting his taxes. However, he addressed the back taxes and penalties in 2021, with his lawyers attributing the missed payments to his tumultuous life during his addiction.

This plea comes over a year after a previous agreement intended to settle both tax and gun charges fell through. Biden had previously proposed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and enter a pretrial program for the gun charges, which could have resulted in no prison time.

However, Republicans criticized the former plea deal as a “sweetheart deal” for the president’s son. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika blocked the deal due to disagreements between the prosecution and defense around whether it included potential future charges.

President Joe Biden, who has refrained from pursuing reelection in light of the charges against his son, has stated he would not grant him a pardon. “The answer is still no,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday.

Contributing: Reuters