Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to two tax crimes after plea deal questioned

Republicans had accused President's son of receiving sweetheart deal

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden at a court in Wilmington, Delaware. AP

US President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to two tax crimes on Wednesday, shortly after a plea deal unravelled earlier in the day.

Hunter Biden was initially going to plead guilty over an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation.

Instead, the routine plea hearing turned into a three-hour session featuring hushed negotiations between lawyers and pointed questions from US District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika.

There appeared to be a dispute in court over whether the initial agreement gave him protection against any future charges, Reuters reported.

“I cannot accept the plea agreement today,” the judge appointed by former president Donald Trump said, asking the parties to brief her on why she should accept it.

That means that .Hunter Biden's lawyers and prosecutors may yet persuade Ms Noreika to approve the deal as it was previously negotiated, or to alter it to a form she can accept.

He is charged in a separate case with unlawfully owning a firearm while addicted to and using a controlled substance, which is a felony.

“Hunter Biden is a private citizen and this was a personal matter,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“The President and first lady, they love their son and continue to support him as rebuilds his life.”

He was charged with two misdemeanour tax crimes in which he failed to pay more than $100,000 in taxes in 2017 and 2018. He was also charged with possession of a firearm by a known drug user.

An earlier plea agreement would have ended a long-running investigation by the Justice Department into Hunter Biden, who has admitted to his struggles with addiction, AP reported.

Republicans considered the agreement, which would have spared him from prison, as a sweetheart deal.

They have accused Hunter Biden of using his father's political power in his business activities in China and Ukraine, although no evidence supports those claims.

They have also accused the Justice Department of a double standard, comparing his treatment to the federal investigations dealing with 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump.

President Biden has said little publicly about the case, except to say “I'm very proud of my son”.