Hunter Biden to be sentenced on Nov. 13 after conviction on gun charges

Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, will be sentenced on Nov. 13 after a jury found him guilty of federal gun charges, according to a court filing on Friday.

Hunter Biden became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a felony on June 11 when a jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found him guilty on three counts related to his lying about illegal drug use when he purchased a handgun in 2018.

The sentencing by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika will take place eight days after the Nov. 5 presidential election pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Sentencing guidelines for the gun charges are 15 to 21 months, but legal experts say defendants in similar cases often get shorter sentences and are less likely to be incarcerated if they abide by the terms of their pretrial release.

Joe Biden issued a statement following the verdict saying he accepted the outcome of the case.

At the trial, prosecutors offered an intimate view of Hunter Biden’s years of struggle with alcohol and crack cocaine abuse, which they said legally precluded him from buying a gun.

Biden’s lawyers sought to show he was not using drugs when he bought the gun and did not intend to deceive because he didn’t consider himself a drug user when he filled out the form.

Hunter Biden has also been charged with three felony and six misdemeanor tax offenses in California, alleging he failed to pay US$1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. A trial is scheduled for Sept. 5 in Los Angeles.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Eric Beech)