What Happens Next in Hunter Biden’s Criminal Cases

The president’s son now confronts a daunting and uncertain process that could result in serious time behind bars when he is sentenced in his tax and gun cases in mid-December.

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Hunter Biden is at the mercy of two federal judges following sentencing guidelines.

Hunter Biden was relieved, at least for a while, after pleading guilty to tax offenses in Los Angeles on Sept. 5 — sparing him the ordeal of a second criminal trial.

But Mr. Biden, 54, now confronts a daunting and uncertain process that could result in serious time behind bars when he is sentenced in Delaware on Dec. 13 and California on Dec. 16.

He is looking at a maximum of 17 years in federal prison for the tax charges, and $1.35 million in fines. He faced nine counts for falsifying records and failing to file returns dating to a period when he was hooked on crack, alcohol and easy cash. That is on top of the 25-year maximum he faces after being convicted in Delaware for lying on a federal gun application.

He will serve, at most, a small fraction of that time — and his legal team hopes to spare him even that. Looming above it all is one outstanding question: Will his father, President Biden, intervene with a pardon or commutation?

Hunter Biden is at the mercy of two federal judges following sentencing guidelines that suggest he is likely to serve a year or more behind bars. Here is how his sentencings are likely to play out.

What sentence will he get in the tax case?

The fate of every federal felon is dependent on a single digit — a numerical score calculated from the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s rating scale that runs from one, for minor crimes, to 43, which is assigned to the most serious offenses. The higher the score, the stiffer the sentence.

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