Barbara McQuade, Columnist

Trump Wasn’t Going to Prison Anyway. Neither Was Hunter Biden.

As first-time offenders convicted of non-violent crimes, it would be extremely unusual for either to serve time.

July 4, 2024 at 11:30 AM UTC

Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law school, a former US attorney and author of the forthcoming book, "The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government."

Not so fast.
Photographer: David McNew/Getty Images

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The Supreme Court’s recent decision that a president’s official conduct is immune from criminal prosecution is significant for former President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 trials — but it is unlikely to provide relief to Trump for his Manhattan felony conviction. That’s because the hush-money case involved conduct unrelated to the performance of his duties as president. Nonetheless, Judge Juan Merchan has delayed sentencing until Sept. 18 to give Trump an opportunity to litigate the issue.

When Trump is eventually sentenced, how will Merchan proceed? And for that matter, how should Hunter Biden, son of the current president, be sentenced for his conviction? Partisans hoping for either man to go to jail are likely to be disappointed — and the reason has nothing to do with the Supreme Court or the November election.