Hunter Biden will be sentenced on felony firearms charges in December after a judge agreed on Thursday to a defense-requested delay. The son of President Joe Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018. Prosecutors asserted that he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
Originally, Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, but the judge postponed the hearing until December 4 after Biden’s lawyers argued they needed more time to prepare adequately. The gun charges carry a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison, though experts suggest he will likely face a much shorter term or could potentially avoid imprisonment altogether.
Biden is also set to be sentenced in California on December 16 for federal tax charges to which he pleaded guilty earlier this month. These charges could result in up to 17 years behind bars and carry fines up to $1.35 million.
President Biden, who ended his reelection campaign in July, has stated he will not use his presidential powers to pardon his son or reduce his sentence.
Following his guilty plea on the tax charges, Hunter Biden expressed his desire to shield his family from further distress after the gun trial exposed embarrassing and painful details related to his past crack cocaine addiction. He has been sober since 2019 and emphasized his commitment to not causing his family additional suffering. “I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy, and needless embarrassment,” Biden had previously stated. “For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty.”
