Lawyer Tells Us Maximum Sentence Hunter Biden Could Face For Gun Conviction
President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden became the first child of a sitting president to be found guilty of a crime when a jury in Delaware found him guilty on three federal charges on June 11, 2024. Two of the charges were from a 2018 gun purchase where Hunter lied about being an illegal drug user on the application form and to the gun dealer in 2018. The third charge was for possessing said firearm. Hunter had the gun in his possession for under two weeks, but at the time he was still in the throes of his drug addiction, according to testimony during the trial.
Federal firearms charges can have a weighty penalty. While there isn't yet a sentencing date for Hunter, The List spoke with Neama Rahamni, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, to get a better understanding of what sentence Hunter could be facing for his crimes once that date is set. "The maximum sentence Hunter Biden can receive is 25 years," Rahamani said. "10 years on each of the false statement charges, and five years on the addict in possession charge, if they were to run consecutively or back-to-back."
However, Rahamni didn't think that Hunter will be facing over two decades in prison. "No one gets near the statutory maximum sentence, though." A part of his reasoning seemed to be in consideration of Hunter's circumstances.
There would be unique challenges if Hunter Biden was imprisoned
Instead of facing prison time, Neama Rahamani explained to us that Hunter Biden will more likely be sentenced with home confinement or probation: "Imprisonment for a relatively minor crime where diversion was offered would be surprising and a logistical nightmare because Hunter Biden has Secret Service protection." Rahmani's reference to diversion being offered is the plea deal that ended up falling apart in August 2023. Had it been successful, the gun charges against Hunter would have been dropped.
The Secret Service protection challenges that Hunter's imprisonment could cause are similar, in a way, to what Rahamani told us about Donald Trump's potential sentence for his guilty convictions. However, as the adult child of a president, Hunter would only get Secret Service protection while his father was president. Trump's Secret Service protection continues for life.
There's also the question as to whether or not President Joe Biden will pardon his son for his federal crimes. In addition to the gun conviction, Hunter is also facing federal tax charges in California. While Rahmani noted that the president has publicly said that he wasn't planning to pardon his son, he said, "That may very likely change if he loses in November or Hunter is sentenced to prison."