Hunter Biden’s recent conviction on three felony gun charges could send him to prison for many years or not at all, given his first-time offender status. But the president’s son faces judges in both of his criminal cases who are known for being heavy-handed sentencers.
Federal judges Maryellen Noreika of Wilmington, Delaware, and Mark Scarsi of Los Angeles, both appointed by former President Donald Trump, have been known to hand down prison time even when it’s not required. Scarsi is presiding over the California tax fraud case in which Biden allegedly failed to pay taxes on millions of dollars worth of income. He faces six misdemeanors and three felony counts.
The judges, with less than a decade of experience between them, haven’t presided over many trials, but they’ve handed down harsh sentences in the ones they have, according to a review by Politico.
Noreika is presiding over Biden’s gun trial and has been involved with a firearm case before. In May, she sentenced a Maryland man to one year in prison for lying about living in Delaware when he bought guns in the state. That was twice the prosecution’s recommended sentence of six months and came even as the defendant pled guilty on a first offense.
Biden could face up to 25 years in prison for lying about his drug use when he purchased a firearm, a similar case to the deception displayed by the Maryland man, although Noreika could punish the president’s son much more severely. A sentencing date has not been set.
Scarsi appears to be a less severe sentencer than Noreika in some aspects — he handed down a lighter-than-recommended sentence in a tax case similar to Biden’s, but he also sentenced Liang Tai Chen, who had filed false tax returns that led to him failing to pay the IRS more than $1.6 million, to two years in prison.
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Biden’s second criminal trial is set to begin Sept. 5.
The president’s son is the second notable political figure in recent weeks to be convicted on felony charges. Trump was convicted of 34 felonies on May 30 and is set to be sentenced in July.
