Hunter Biden will be jailed for the gun crimes he was found guilty of a few days after the 2024 election.
An order from the court on Friday said that the sentencing hearing in Delaware’s federal court would take place on November 13. The judge is Maryellen Noreika. November 5 is election day.
Hunter Biden was found guilty, and the effects will likely be felt during the election season because his father, President Joe Biden, will still have a big impact on politics even though he is not running for reelection.
The worst punishment that could happen to Hunter Biden is up to 25 years in jail and a $750,000 fine.
He is also going to be tried in a second federal criminal trial soon on tax charges in California. This could make his sentence more difficult. The hearing for that case is set to happen in September.
In June, Hunter Biden was found guilty by a jury in Delaware’s federal court of three felony gun charges meant to keep drug users from having guns. When he bought the gun in October 2018, he told the gun shop that he wasn’t high or using drugs at the time.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict and the law that applies to the gun charges to get the sentence thrown out. However, that may not change the date of the sentencing.
Noreika, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump and was backed by both Democrats and Republicans, will decide the sentence.
Federal law says she has to think about the specifics of the crime, the defendant’s background and personality, and the need to punish Hunter Biden in a way that encourages “respect for the law.”
During the hearing, a very bad picture of a drug addict with a bad personal life was shown. Some of these issues are expected to come up again in the upcoming tax trial, which is also being led by special counsel David Weiss.
The president does have a lot of power to commute a term or grant a pardon, but Biden had said before that he had decided not to pardon his son.