Prosecutors on Thursday objected to Hunter Biden’s last-minute attempt to avoid a trial for felony tax evasion, saying that jury selection should begin. The president’s only surviving son had sought to withdraw his guilty plea at the eleventh hour and instead do a so-called Alford Plea in which he’d concede that the government has enough evidence to convict him, but lets Biden maintain his proclamation of innocence.

Just before jury selection was set to begin Thursday, Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, informed Judge Mark Scarsi that the first son wanted to change to the Alford Plea after originally pleading not guilty. 

Biden’s attorneys in 2023 had worked out on an agreement with Special Counsel David Weiss to allow the first son to plead guilty to alleged tax crimes and his illegal purchase of a firearm while addicted to drugs and avoid prison time. The deal collapsed after it came under criticism from GOP members of Congress as a “sweetheart deal” and a judge in Delaware rejected that plea agreement.

Biden would go on to be convicted in the firearms case. He has yet to be sentenced in the matter and could face prison.

Now the president’s only surviving son is seeking to avoid the embarrassment of a second trial, which would again put a focus on his sordid lifestyle while addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine. He still does not want to admit wrongdoing.

According to Cornell University Law School, an Alford Plea, also known as a best-interests plea, “registers a formal admission of guilt towards charges in criminal court while the defendant simultaneously expresses their innocence toward those same charges.” Should prosecutors agree to the plea and Judge Scarsi accept it, Biden will have to accept whatever punishment is handed down. 

Prosecutors asked for time to consider Biden’s Alford Plea after Mr. Lowell made the announcement in court Thursday, according to Politico. Judge Scarsi’s ruling on the plea could come in a matter of hours. 

The tax trial was set to be one of the most embarrassing moments for Biden, his father, and the rest of his family. Prosecutors alleged that he dodged more than $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while he was making millions of dollars by doing consulting work for entities in Communist China, Ukraine, and Romania, among other countries. During that same time, prosecutors say Biden spent more than $1 million in cash withdrawals from banks and hundreds of thousands of dollars on payments to “various women.” 

Biden still faces up to 17 years in prison and a hefty fine if Judge Scarsi accepts the Alford Plea, though given that this is his first tax offense, it is unlikely he would get a punishment anywhere near that maximum. He is set to be sentenced in Delaware either in September or October for his illegal purchase of a firearm; the judge in that case has yet to set a firm date.