Biden’s sudden about-face in a Los Angeles federal courtroom last week — pleading guilty to nine tax-related criminal charges shortly before trial — has raised questions about the prospect of a presidential pardon.

LOS ANGELES -- The legal saga surrounding Hunter Biden took an unexpected turn when he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax counts after prosecutors refused to budge in their opposition to a special plea that would have allowed him to maintain his innocence.

First son Hunter Biden released a statement Thursday after he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges, saying he did so to “spare" his family from being “publicly humiliated" by a trial.

The criminal trial of first son Hunter Biden on federal tax charges was expected to get underway in normal order Thursday before he said he intended to plead guilty to the charges in a shocking twist.

Hunter Biden faced his one-time antagonist Lev Parnas, who was at the center of former President Trump’s efforts to dig up dirt on President Biden’s son, in an emotional meeting captured in a new MSNBC/Rachel Maddow documentary — calling the remorseful convict a “hero.