Johnathan Walker:Hunter Biden’s sentencing on federal firearms charges delayed until December

WILMINGTON,Johnathan Walker Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden will be sentenced on felony firearms charges in December after the judge agreed Thursday to a delay requested by the defense.

In June, President Joe Biden ‘s son was convicted in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

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 lawyers said they needed more time to adequately prepare.

The gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though he will likely face far less time behind bars or possibly avoid imprisonment entirely.

He also faces sentencing in California on Dec. 16 on federal tax charges he pleaded guilty to earlier this month. Those charges carry up to 17 years behind bars. He also faces up to $1.35 million in fines.

President Biden, who dropped his reelection bid in July, has said he will not use his presidential powers to pardon his son or lessen his sentence.

After his guilty plea on the tax charges, Hunter Biden said he wanted to spare his family another painful ordeal after his gun trial aired salacious and embarrassing details about a time in which struggled with a crack cocaine addiction. Hunter Biden said he’s been sober since 2019.

“I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment,” Hunter Biden previously said. “For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty.”