Hunter Biden is reportedly telling those closest to him that he may flee the country if former President Donald Trump is elected to a second term next fall.
The son of President Joe Biden has been hit with some serious charges, including a nine-count indictment brought in California last week and felony gun charges in Delaware.
But whether he remains in the U.S. to face those charges — or any future ones — could be determined by the winner of the 2024 presidential election.
“Hunter Biden knows he is in the political crosshairs,” Politico reported Wednesday.
“In recent conversations with family friends, he has worried that he might have to flee the country if Trump were to be elected president again, according to two people who have spoken to him.”
Trending:
If Hunter Biden’s motive in fleeing the U.S. was to avoid prosecution, such a break for greener pastures would be a federal crime.
The indictment brought against the first son by federal prosecutors in California last Thursday includes a count of felony tax evasion and two felony counts of filing a false tax return. He also faces six misdemeanor charges of failure to pay taxes.
The Department of Justice said in a news release that Hunter Biden could be sentenced to up to 17 years in prison if convicted of the tax charges.
Will Hunter Biden flee the country?
The gun charges stem from a handgun purchase Hunter Biden made in Delaware in 2018 — at a time he has publicly acknowledged he was using illegal drugs such as crack cocaine.
A plea deal in the case fell apart in July after a federal judge objected to the blanket immunity from future prosecution the agreement would have involved.
As Reuters noted in October when Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the gun charges, any travel plans he makes must be cleared by a probation officer.
The president’s son could soon also be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify under oath before the House Oversight Committee.
The committee had subpoenaed Hunter Biden as part of its investigation into an alleged influence-peddling scheme implicating him and his powerful father.
Hunter Biden’s legal woes are taking a “heavy toll” on the president, according to Politico.
“[Hunter Biden] has also worried about the intense scrutiny that his family would face during the 2024 campaign — and went public in recent days with his own concerns about the toll on his father,” the outlet reported.
In a podcast released last week, Hunter Biden said, “They’re trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle — and so therefore destroying a presidency in that way.”
