Hunter Biden is far from the only one to have been charged with similar firearm and tax evasion crimes and several legal experts believe that he actually received more favorable treatment than others who have committed comparable transgressions.
President Biden was adamant that his son “Hunter was treated differently” when he broke his public pledge and issued a rare sweeping pardon spanning almost 11 years for his troubled son late Sunday.
But the 54-year-old is far from the only one to have been charged with similar firearm and tax evasion crimes.
Several legal experts believe that he already received favorable treatment than others who have committed comparable transgressions.
Here are other cases where famous defendants served prison time for their offenses.Darryl De Sousa
Former Baltimore police commissioner Darryl De Sousa spent 10 months in jail after being accused of skipping out on some $67,000 in taxes.
Hunter, by contrast, admitted to failing to pay $1.4 million to the IRS.
De Sousa, who had grown up in a poor household in Queens, New York, decried the pardon as a slap in the face.
“It’s unfair. It’s unfortunate,” he lamented to The Post. “The first thing that came to my mind is this two-tiered justice system that exists. It has always existed, and I don’t think it’s ever going to go away.”
“Those who are in power and privilege, that come from established communities., vs. those who come from historically underserved communities, are going to be at the opposite end of that.”
De Sousa recounted experiencing that “two-tiered” system firsthand while patrolling the streets of Baltimore for almost three decades.
“The message that I really would like everyone to know is that the criminal justice system is in dire need of reform,” he added before shifting gears to Hunter Biden’s situation and expressing some sympathy.
“[The two cases] should be treated differently. But I have never walked heel to toe in Hunter Biden’s shoes, with his addiction,” he added. “The pardon, I don’t agree to that. There needs to be some consequences.”
As for his own tax evasion, De Sousa says there is “no excuse” and he takes “full responsibility” and pinned the blame on negligence.
“I put my job first and that was it,” he reflected. “I neglected myself. I neglected my personal responsibilities in life, almost to the point of forgetting about my health.”
Notably, prosecutors Leo Wise and Derek Hines, who argued the firearm case against Hunter Biden in June, also prosecuted the case against De Sousa.
De Sousa’s charges stemmed from 2013 through 2015. Ultimately, he was forced to resign as Baltimore police commissioner following the 2019 indictment. Rapper Kodak Black
Roughly five years ago, Rapper Kodak Black was sentenced to 46 months behind bars at the age of 22 for writing down a wrong Social Security number in his application to purchase three guns.
Prosecutors alleged the “Bodak Yellow” rapper was trying to hide his criminal record, which made it illegal for him to own firearms.
Hunter Biden was similarly precluded from purchasing the .38-caliber revolver he bought on Oct. 12, 2018, but lied a form to purchase it anyway, a jury concluded back in June.
