Global Courant
Hunter Biden’s sentence for his gun and tax-related crimes has not yet been decided, but experts are divided on whether he will be released with a legal slap on the wrist.
The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanors of willful failure to pay federal income taxes. He also agreed to enter into a preliminary diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
If the judge approves the plea deal, the president’s son will not serve a prison sentence for these crimes. That other public figures have served time for similar crimes has sparked a conversation about whether the US justice system is bipartisan.
The lawyer who killed rap star Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr. – AKA Ja Rule – has suggested that the plea deal is not yet set in stone and that Hunter Biden may face a harsher sentence during an interview Wednesday on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
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That attorney, Stacey Richman, noted, “We don’t yet know the final outcome. Sentencing has not yet taken place, and once this plea is presented to the court, the court will have to consider the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. 3553 , and part of that will be how to make this crime a deterrent to other people.”
“You mean there’s a chance this judge won’t agree to the prosecution and defense agreement on probation and sentence Hunter to prison?” asked Fox News host Jesse Watters.
“Is it feasible? Absolutely, it is feasible,” Richman replied. “In federal sentencing, it’s solely up to the judge — it’s not like a state sentencing where we make a deal, ‘OK, we’ll agree to three years — if the judge approves, we can continue.’ No.”
President Biden snapped at reporters asking him about alleged corruption involving him and his son, Hunter Biden. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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“The sentencing factors are being considered by the judge,” Richman continued. “The background of the individual will be taken into account. A report on the conviction will be prepared and on that basis the judge will pronounce the verdict. The defense will submit a memorandum of conviction to the judge.”
“And the judge is a Trump-appointed judge, not that that makes any difference,” Watters said.
He also asked about Atkins’ case when he failed to pay his taxes.
Richman explained that an important part of his defense was having inept management overseeing his finances.
“This situation happened many, many years ago, but what we explained to the court at the time was that he had very bad advice, very bad management, and that was part of his defense, and that’s what we discussed in regards to our punishment.”
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Ja Rule performing at Juicy Fest 2023 on January 20, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Matt Jelonek/Getty Images)
Watters speculated that Biden, on the other hand, probably has the “best management, best lawyers, best accountants. Can’t really blame him, can he?”
Richman noted the nuance that while one may have advisors for activities such as filing taxes, “You are responsible for what you sign.”
In 2021, rapper Kodak Black was sentenced to more than three years in prison for a similar gun crime, and unlike the first son, was not offered a diversion program prior to trial. Former President Donald Trump commuted the hip-hop artist’s sentence in 2021.
Black’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, told “Hannity” on Wednesday that he would challenge the person who made the offer to Hunter Biden to see how many times diversion programs on gun possession have been offered.
Kodak Black got “46 months for the very same thing that Hunter Biden isn’t even advocating for,” said Cohen. “He actually gets a diversion program, which you almost never see in federal court. I mean, it’s less than 1% of people who plead actually get a diversion program.
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“If you calculate this, as you do in the federal system, he would score somewhere in the neighborhood of two years on this case,” Cohen said.
Cohen estimated that Hunter Biden could potentially face 12 months apiece for each of the misdemeanor charges and 24 to 27 months in prison for the gun charge.
Brianna Herlihy and Joshua Comins contributed to this report.
Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
