Hunter Biden indicted on felony charges, facing up to 25 years in prison

(ABC 6 News) – The president’s son is now facing a felony gun charge stemming from special counsel David Weiss’ investigation.

Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison if his case ends in a conviction.

The indictment accuses him of making false statements in the purchase of a firearm, and for false statements related to information required to be kept by federal firearms licensed dealer.

A third count accuses Hunter of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

“He has to be under the same rules as all of us, if there was drug use that prohibited him from obtaining a firearm then he needs to be subject to that law,” Rochester resident Eric Campbell said.

These new charges come just months after a plea deal in the case fell apart, an agreement that would have seen him plead guilty to tax crimes to avoid prosecution and enter into a pretrial diversion program on the gun charges.

But the deal struck with Weiss unraveled in court.

“Obviously the judge didn’t like the plea deal. And that happens sometimes a judge just doesn’t think that the punishment is harsh enough based on what the charges are looking. The new indictment, though, they look like ticky tack charges. They’re not something that the federal government typically brings,” former prosecutor Chris Timmons said.

After that deal fell through, David Weiss who spent five years investigating the case, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to give him special counsel status to continue the investigation.

A request that Garland ultimately accepted.

Even though the younger Biden’s charges carry up to 25 years in prison, the special counsel notes that actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalty.

Meaning Hunter’s fate is now in the hands of a federal judge.