‘Pretty Serious Charges!’ CNN Reporter Says Hunter Biden Maximum Sentence Would Be 10 Years — But ‘Not Likely’ He’ll Get That

CNN correspondent Kara Scannell said maximum sentences for the “pretty serious charges” First Son Hunter Biden has been indicted for add up to ten years, but he’d be “unlikely” to get anything close to that if convicted,

News broke Thursday afternoon that Special Counsel Davis Weiss has secured a grand jury indictment against Hunter Biden on three charges related to his purchase of a firearm. Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell has previously said the charges are the result of political pressure from ex-President Donald Trump and others,  and that a prior diversion agreement is still in effect for the gun issue.

Scannell covered the news in a live hit on Thursday’s edition of CNN News Central, and said the charges are “pretty serious” but will probably not land him a maximum sentence:

JIM SCIUTTO: Hunter Biden and his lawyers. A plea deal, he will now be charged on the gun charge. Our Kara Scannell has been following this. Kara, what do we know? What’s in the indictment specifically?

KARA SCANNELL: Well, Jim, this indictment just hit the docket. It’s four pages long and it’s three criminal counts. So what prosecutors are alleging here is that Hunter Biden had filled out the form when he bought the firearm falsely.

That is because the form asked the question of are you a user of drugs at the time that you’re purchasing this firearm. Hunter Biden checked the box and said no. But he has since become very public about his abuse of cocaine. So he’s charged with two counts of making false statements on these forms and one count of possessing the gun while he was addicted and or user of a controlled substance. Again, crack cocaine.

So a three count indictment, felony charges. These are serious charges.

Now, Jim, as you mentioned, he did have a deal that would have allowed him to avoid prosecution on a gun possession charge. That collapsed under scrutiny by a federal judge. Now, Hunter Biden’s lawyers have argued that this agreement they struck was binding and that the prosecutors could not bring other charges. So clearly something that they’re appearing like they’re going to fight in this case.

I’ve reached out to Hunter Biden’s criminal attorney. I have not heard back since this indictment has hit the docket, but certainly very serious charges! This possession charge carries a statutory maximum of ten years in prison, though that is rarely what a defendant is sentenced to because often these charges do accompany another crime. And that is not what we’re seeing in this case.

But prosecutors did say that they were going to bring this charge by the end of the month. And now that the time is now, we do not know yet when Hunter Biden will have to appear in court for an arraignment on these charges. That’s just not available yet in the docket. But, you know, it is also important to note that prosecutors are investigating him for tax charges. He did have a plea to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges that also fell apart. Those charges were dismissed. And that is something that the special counsel, David Weiss, is still continuing to investigate. So this is not the end of the road for Hunter Biden as far as potential criminal charges facing. But he is facing three criminal counts today, Jim. Pretty serious charges!

Watch the clip above CNN News Central.