Hunter Biden will be sentenced on felony gun charges in December after the judge on Thursday granted a defense-requested extension.
In June, President Joe Biden’s son was convicted in Delaware federal court of three felony counts for purchasing a gun in 2018 when prosecutors say he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using drugs or addicted to them.
He was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13, but the judge agreed to delay the hearing until Dec. 4 after Hunter Biden’s attorneys said they needed more time to properly prepare.
The gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though he will likely face much less time behind bars or possibly avoid incarceration altogether.
He also faces sentencing in California on Dec. 16 on federal tax charges to which he pleaded guilty earlier this month. Those charges carry up to 17 years in prison. He also faces fines of up to $1.35 million.
President Biden, who dropped out of his reelection bid in July, has said he will not use his presidential powers to pardon his son or reduce his sentence.
After his guilty plea on the tax charges, Hunter Biden said he wanted to spare his family another painful experience after his gun trial aired lurid and embarrassing details about a time when he battled a crack addiction. Hunter Biden said he has been sober since 2019.
“I will not put my family through any more pain, any more invasions of privacy and any unnecessary embarrassment,” Hunter Biden previously said. “Despite everything I’ve put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and that’s why I’ve decided to plead guilty.”