A Delaware jury has found President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, guilty on all three gun charges after just several hours of deliberating. This verdict represents a significant gamble by Hunter to go to trial instead of accepting a revised plea deal proposed in the summer of 2023. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines. However, there is usually a two to three-month delay between conviction and sentencing in the federal system, and NBC News reported that legal experts believe the guidelines would likely specify around one year in prison if Hunter is convicted on all counts.
Judge Maryellen Noreika recently handed down a one-year sentence for a similar gun case, while the defense requested a six-month sentence. The government charged Hunter with false statements in purchasing a firearm, possession of a firearm by an unlawful user or addict of a controlled substance, and providing false information to a federal firearms licensed dealer. In 2018, Hunter reportedly used crack when he purchased the firearm and was found discarded in a public trash can next to a school. The Secret Service is said to have intervened in the investigation of that incident.
The prosecution brought ten witnesses to the stand during the trial, while the defense presented only one witness, Naomi Biden Neal, whose testimony appeared to backfire by making Hunter appear “erratic” to the jury, according to court reporters. Legal experts had warned last week that the defense might be hoping for jury nullification, a phenomenon where a defendant is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but jurors disregard their oath and find the defendant not guilty.
The defense focused on painting Hunter as a victim of drug abuse, with attorney Abbe Lowell arguing that prosecutors must prove that Hunter “knowingly” committed the gun offenses. In contrast, the prosecution emphasized the principle that “no one is above the law,” and that “it doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is.” Prosecutor Leo Wise argued that Hunter “chose to illegally own a firearm” and “we’re also here because he chose to lie.
In 2023, Hunter rejected a plea deal proposed by prosecutors after negotiations fell apart under judicial scrutiny of a “diversion agreement.” The original “sweetheart” plea deal would have allowed Hunter to plead guilty to not paying taxes on more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, resulting in probation instead of jail time. Special Counsel David Weiss also devised a separate diversion agreement that provided immunity from potential future charges and could potentially wipe a felony gun violation from Hunter’s record.
However, Weiss later indicted Hunter on tax violations in California, with the trial set for September. The case is currently United States v. Hunter Biden, No. 24-1703 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.