Could Hunter Biden Face Prison For Gun Crimes? Here's Why It's Unlikely

 A Delaware jury found Hunter Biden guilty of three federal gun crimes Tuesday, making him the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime—but legal experts say he’s unlikely to be sentenced to prison in the case, even though it’s technically possible.

 A jury convicted Hunter Biden, 54, of three felonies for buying a gun in 2018 when he was addicted to crack cocaine.

Two of the crimes—making a false oral or written statement to a licensed firearms dealer, and illegally possessing a gun despite being an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance—carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, while the third charge of making a false statement on the federal form to purchase the gun carries a sentence of up to five years.

Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.

Prosecutors noted in announcing the indictment that “actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties,” and legal experts say Hunter Biden could likely avoid prison time.

Defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor Jeremy Saland told Forbes several factors could lead the judge to consider probation instead of incarceration, including that Hunter Biden says he has been sober since 2019, that he only possessed the firearm for 11 days, the gun was not associated with any other crime, and that the gun purchase was made nearly six years ago.

Saland noted the now-defunct plea deal prosecutors negotiated with Hunter Biden’s legal team last year suggests prison is an inappropriate punishment, since the agreement would have allowed him to avoid the gun charges if he successfully completed a diversion program and pleaded guilty to a separate set of tax charges in exchange for six months of probation.

“Here we have an isolated crime with nothing else, it would be very surprising for Hunter Biden to serve time,” ABC News’ chief legal analyst Dan Abrams said on air Tuesday.


Judge Maryellen Noreika has yet to set a sentencing date, but noted in court Tuesday sentencing typically happens 120 days after a verdict. President Joe Biden, who has ruled out pardoning his son, said Hunter Biden is considering appealing the verdict in a statement expressing support for his son.


The 12-person jury delivered the verdict Tuesday after less than three hours of deliberation in the six-day trial. The trial exposed personal details of Hunter Biden’s struggle with addiction to crack cocaine via testimony from three of his exes, his daughter Naomi Biden and evidence in which he discusses his drug use, including his own memoir and text messages prosecutors presented. The case stems from a .38 Colt Cobra Hunter Biden bought in 2018, then kept in his possession for 11 days. Hallie Biden, his ex-girlfriend and the widow of his brother Beau Biden, found the gun, alongside remnants of crack in his truck, and threw it in a trash can outside of a local grocery store, she testified. Hunter Biden’s attorneys argued in previous court filings prosecutors caved to political pressure in bringing the case and that Hunter Biden was in denial about his addiction at the time he purchased the gun. Justice Department special prosecutor David Weiss, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to handle the case to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest with the Biden administration, said Tuesday the verdict shows “no one in this country is above the law” and “everyone must be held accountable for their actions.”

Weiss’ office charged Hunter Biden with the gun crimes in September last year after the plea deal unraveled over a disagreement about the potential for future charges. Weiss’ office also charged Hunter Biden with nine counts of failing to file and pay taxes from 2016 through 2019 in federal court in Los Angeles. His trial in that case is set to commence Sept. 3.