Following news of Hunter Biden agreeing to plead guilty to three federal charges in exchange for a probation recommendation from prosecutors at sentencing, Republicans took to social media to howl about this being supposedly too lenient, with former President Donald Trump — himself facing 37 federal charges including violations of the Espionage Act — complaining that Hunter Biden's proposed punishment is little more than a "traffic ticket."
But not so fast, former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams told a CNN panel — this would actually be a very typical sentence for a person accused of these crimes, who cooperates with investigators and agrees to a guilty plea. And furthermore, it's not like Hunter Biden has entirely escaped the possibility of jail time.
"Give us some context here about these charges, this plea deal," said anchor Alex Marquardt. "You have two tax misdemeanors. They're going to resolve this felony gun charge. How does this strike you?"
"It does not strike me as alarming at all, Alex," said Williams. "Think of it this way. In our federal system, about 97, 98 percent of cases that actually are brought end up resulting in a plea deal. It is incredibly common for someone who is charged with a federal crime to plead guilty. With that in mind, this kind of arrangement for these types of crimes would not be that alarming. Set aside the politics, set aside the fact that it's Hunter Biden, this is a very straightforward plea deal from a prosecutorial perspective."
"When it comes to politics, when it comes to the Republicans' reaction, we're hearing them call it a sweetheart deal," said Marquardt. "A mere traffic ticket, in the words of former President Donald Trump. How accurate?"
"A traffic ticket that can get you put in jail," replied Williams. "60 percent of cases that end up in supervision or probation end up having some violation in some way. He could actually end up behind bars for this. Look, someone who has, in the case of Hunter Biden, someone who has a history of substance abuse and firearm possession who's on probation, it doesn't look good for him down the road. And so the idea of throwing around these terms about slap on the wrist, probation, traffic ticket, it's just not accurate."
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