What was President Biden’s son charged with? Federal gun trial updates

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, has been found guilty on three federal felony gun charges. He becomes the first family member of a sitting president to be found guilty of a federal crime during their father’s time in office.

Tuesday’s verdict concludes the first of two legal cases facing Hunter Biden. The second, related to tax evasion and falsifying a tax return, is set to begin in a California court in September.

Both cases were brought by David Weiss, who is overseeing the prosecution and whose team had reached a plea agreement with President Joe Biden’s only surviving son last year. However, those fell through with both sides blaming the other. Hunter has pled not guilty to all the charges.

What gun charges has Hunter Biden been found guilty of?

The President’s son was accused of making false statements on a form when he purchased a gun in 2018 and possessing the firearm at a time when he had a drug abuse problem. The first two overlap in that he marked a box on the form which asks if a person is an “unlawful user of or addicted to” illegal drugs.

Furthermore, it is illegal in the US to possess a gun if an individual is using or addicted to illicit drugs, the third charge against him in the Delaware case. The court heard that he had owned the gun for 11 days before his ex-girlfriend and sister-in-law, Hallie Biden, threw the gun in a dumpster.

In the upcoming tax trial the prosecution alleges that Biden “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019.”

A press release issued by Weiss and the Justice Department states that the indictment charges Biden with four counts of failure to pay taxes and two counts of failure to file taxes, adding up to six misdemeanour charges. He also faces two cases of filing a false return and one of tax evasion, which comprise three felony charges.

Will Hunter Biden go to jail?

While the tax charges Hunter Biden will face in California are six misdemeanours and three felonies, all three of the gun charges are felonies. Having been found guilty on all three of the latter charges, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. In the case of the tax violations he could be facing up to 17 years of incarceration.

However, as he is a first-time offender it is expected that he would receive a lighter sentence than the maximum. There is also the possibility that his father as president could pardon him or commute the sentence.

That would be tricky though as Joe Biden faces a tight race with former President Donald Trump, who himself was convicted of 34 felony charges in the Stormy Daniels hush money case for falsifying business records in order to corrupt the outcome of the 2016 election.