Judge Delays Hunter Biden’s Sentencing in Federal Gun Case

Hunter Biden, right, and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, arrive in federal court for jury selection for his trial on felony tax charges in Los Angeles on Sept. 5, 2024. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

President Joe Biden’s son will not be sentenced until December, a federal judge said in an oral order on Sept. 19.

Hunter Biden, who had been scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13, will not be sentenced until Dec. 4, according to U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who is based in Delaware.

Jurors over the summer found Biden guilty of lying on an application to buy a gun when he said he was not a drug user and illegally possessing the firearm he bought.

Excerpts from Hunter Biden’s memoir supported the prosecution, as did testimony from Hunter Biden’s former wife and ex-girlfriends.

Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, although most criminals receive less than the maximum based on adjustments in sentencing guidelines. Noreika will consider briefs from prosecutors and defense lawyers before handing down a sentence.

President Biden will be poised to exit the White House when his son’s sentence is announced because he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

Lawyers for Hunter Biden said in a recent motion that Noreika should delay sentencing because they were having difficulty completing pre-sentencing tasks in the case. The lawyers cited, in part, how they have also been conducting pre-sentencing tasks such as assembling financial paperwork for Biden’s sentencing in a separate case in California.

“Several people who plan to submit letters to both Courts as part of sentencing memoranda for Mr. Biden are short of time because they are presently involved in government work and travel with the current administration, or are involved in the 2024 presidential campaign,” the motion reads. “Once Mr. Biden’s counsel receives those letters, which may not be feasible well in advance, counsel needs time to incorporate them into pre-sentencing memoranda. And should there be any live testimony at the sentencing hearing, it would be efficient and helpful to coordinate that testimony to overlap closely in California and December so that witnesses can prepare once for both events in close proximity.”

The lawyers also said Biden’s lead counsel has to attend a pretrial conference in a third, civil case for Biden on Nov. 12, which would make it hard for that lawyer to be in Delaware on Nov. 13.

Biden pleaded guilty earlier in September to tax charges, including intentionally failing to pay taxes across multiple years, in the case brought in California. He faces up to 17 years and up to $1.3 million in fines in that case. Sentencing in that case is scheduled for Dec. 16.