Legal experts warn Hunter Biden faces ‘real chance of jail time’ if convicted on new tax felony charges
Legal experts warn that Hunter Biden could face ‘a real chance of jail time’ if convicted on his new felony tax charges.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital said Biden could face jail time if he is convicted of the three felony tax charges filed by special counsel David Weiss in California Thursday.
Turley said Weiss repeatedly emphasized in Biden’s indictment ‘that this was a four-year effort to knowingly evade taxes to spend on ‘an extravagant lifestyle.”
‘It is hard to see how prosecutors would make such a case and not seek jail time for knowingly criminal conduct. Moreover, given the evasion going back to 2016, it is hard for the court to dismiss this as a first-offender novice,’ Turley said.
‘There is a real chance of jail time if he is convicted on the three felonies.’
Former deputy independent counsel Sol Wisenberg told Fox News Digital ‘it is very hard to say’ what the average American would face if convicted of Biden’s charges ‘because federal judges typically grant a ‘downward variance’ from the advisory sentencing guidelines range in tax cases.’
‘Also, the sentence depends on whether you plead guilty and accept responsibility or take the government to trial and lose,’ Wisenberg said.
‘I would guess that a typical citizen who pleaded guilty to the charges would end up getting anywhere from one to three years,’ he added.
The experts’ comments come as the younger Biden navigates expanding legal woes as his father, President Biden, seeks re-election to a second term.
Hunter Biden is facing nine charges alleging a ‘four-year scheme’ when he did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.
The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors from $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid.
Special counsel David Weiss alleged Hunter 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, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020.’
Weiss said that, in ‘furtherance of that scheme,’ the younger Biden ‘subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions’ from the company ‘outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform.’
Counts one, two, four and nine allege that Hunter did not pay his taxes in the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Counts three and five allege Hunter failed to file his taxes in the years 2017 and 2018.
Count five of the indictment noted Hunter raked in a ‘gross income in excess of $2.1 million’ and alleged the presidential scion failed to pay his taxes on his millions of dollars of income.
Count six alleges Hunter’s ‘evasion of assessment for 2018 Form 1040’ regarding his taxes, while count seven alleges Hunter filed ‘a false and fraudulent 2018 Form 1040.’
The sixth count also alleges Hunter ‘finally filed his 2018 Form 1040 in 2020 in order to avoid being held in contempt of court in two civil proceedings.’
Additionally, count eight alleges Hunter filed ‘a false and fraudulent 2018 Form 1120.’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday the president would not be pardoning his son if he’s convicted.
‘Nothing has changed. That is still the case,’ Jean-Pierre said when asked if Biden will pardon Hunter.
‘I mean, the president has said this before, and he will continue to say, which is that he loves his son and supports him as he continues to rebuild his life,’ Jean-Pierre said.
‘And I’m going to be really careful to not comment on this and refer to Department of Justice or my colleagues at the White House counsel. But that’s what I’m going to. I’m not going to go beyond telling you all what the president has said over and over again. He’s proud of his son, and he is building his life back.’
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed reporting.