President Joe Biden’s son is all the rage in criminal news headlines this week. Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to two federal tax charges and faces a felony gun charge that comes with a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. However, it seems like Hunter Biden will face no jail time for the gun crime due to the way it may be handled – the embattled son of a president will be admitting his guilt for possessing a gun while not legally being allowed to due to drug use, but not exactly pleading guilty.
Hunter Biden’s attorney, Christopher Clark, talked about the firearm charge Hunter Biden is faced with and said the following: “A firearm charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement, will also be filed by the Government. I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.”
This means the plea deal only included the tax crimes, but not the felony gun charge that could have landed Hunter Biden in prison for up to ten years. Hunter Biden earned probation for the tax crimes, but his gun charge was handled differently in the sense he will admit he did it, but they’ll place him into the ‘pretrial diversion agreement’ as his attorney mentioned.
What is pretrial diversion? The Justice.gov website says pretrial diversion allows certain offenders to avoid the ‘traditional criminal justice processing’ and use ‘alternative systems of supervision and services.’ In this case, it potentially allows Hunter Biden to completely avoid prison and be placed in a ‘rehab’ program instead. If Hunter Biden cannot meet terms set by the pretrial diversion, he may return to the traditional form of criminal justice processes and possibly be charged. The pretrial diversion may allow Hunter Biden’s gun charge to be dismissed, reduced, or even receive a ‘more favorable recommendation at sentencing.’
In other words, there’s little to no chance Hunter Biden goes to jail while many others have likely been imprisoned for a similar charge.
Attorney Bradford Cohen took note of Hunter Biden’s legal issues and results, then had something to say about it on Instagram when he posted: “2 tiers of justice? Kodak was charged for the same crime. Got over 3 years. Mr. Biden will not serve a day. Feels right? Do FBI agents and federal authorities take cases personally?” Cohen’s client, Kodak Black, a famous rapper, was facing jail time for a similar gun charge, which prompted Cohen to ask if there’s really a ‘two-tiered’ legal system that treats the accused differently.
Of course, each case is different in many ways and details, but the point remains. Is America dealing with a two-tier justice system that will help Hunter Biden evade ten years in jail just because he’s President Joe Biden’s little baby boy?
Reeve Swainston, a former Philadelphia prosecutor, suggested that it’s ‘unheard of’ for a suspect to get pretrial diversion for a gun case. Swainston said on Twitter, that he believes Hunter Biden is “NOT pleading to a felony as claimed. Rather, he’s pleading to NOTHING. Diversion means he’ll need to “be a good Hunter” for a period of time, after which this count will be DISMISSED!! Assuming this is true, this is an abomination of justice like I’ve never seen before. Think about it – not only does he retain his freedom unlike 99% of firearm offenders, but will NOT be a felon which means he retains his 2nd Am rights to own & operate that same gun or any other gun he wants…”
This is where readers who know someone in prison, or may have a gun charge themselves, may begin to feel upset. When a former prosecutor goes on public record to make statements like this, it’s typically rooted in experience and out of respect for the practice of law. Former Philadelphia prosecutor Swainston further said on Twitter: “The vast majority of my firearm defendants served in/around 60 mos on avg, & that was a LOW sentence for many of my candidly complex litigation cartel cases, but still, jail is what gun offenders must expect in the federal system unless you are Hunter Biden. So yes, this defense atty @bradfordcohen is not only making a valid point, he’s profoundly correct about the 2-tier system of justice.“
Swainston continued, getting to the point that the way Hunter Biden’s gun charge was handled is ‘this is monumental in all the wrong ways.‘
As a FedProsecutor I have prosecuted many hundreds of gun cases & dozens of tax cases, but what jumps out most for me is the report that he’s getting Pre-Trial Diversion on this count. That is unheard of. It NEVER happens.
It means he is NOT pleading to a felony as claimed.… https://t.co/jCxQyDxk0f
— Reeve Swainston, Esq. (@ReeveSwainston) June 21, 2023
Photo: Hunter image By Center for Strategic & International Studies – Panel 3: Our Shared Opportunity: A Vision for Global Prosperity, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93062660
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