Chris Christie believes Hunter Biden will definitely serve jail time even with a PLEA and won't get another 'sweetheart deal' after it spectacularly collapsed in court

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday predicted that Hunter Biden would have to serve jail time even if he inked a new plea deal. 

Christie, who's running for the 2024 Republican nomination, spoke to NBC's Andrea Mitchell Friday afternoon. 

On Thursday night, Hunter Biden was charged with tax evasion, with federal prosecutors alleging that the president's son spent almost $5million on a lavish lifestyle between the years of 2016 and 2019, while failing to pay $1.4million in federal taxes. 

'I'm sure that he could negotiate a plea at this point, but it's not going to be the kind of sweetheart deal he got before,' said Christie, a former federal prosecutor. 'And my guess is that with the combination of the gun charges and the tax charges that Hunter Biden is going to have to do time in jail. 

The tax charges levied against Hunter Biden cary a maximum 17-year prison sentence.

'He's facing what he should have been facing from the beginning, which were felony tax charges,' Christie explained. 'When you involve millions of dollars in tax evasion. That is a felony. And the same thing with the felony gun charges.'

'And, you know, he faces these charges because the government has evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed these crimes,' the former prosecutor added. 

In September, Hunter was indicted by Special Counsel David Weiss on three gun charges including making false statements on a federal firearms form and to a gun store and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person. 

The younger Biden had denied using drugs when he filled out a gun application in 2018. 

Federal law prohibits drug addicts from being firearms owners. 

Those charges came after the so-called 'sweetheart deal' fell apart in court in August. 

'I had been saying for weeks before that, that the judge would never approve such a sweetheart plea deal and I think what his lawyers did was give him awful advice,' Christie said.  

Hunter's gun charges carry a maximum 25 years in prison. 

Thursday's indictment contained a litany of embarrassing allegations about the first son's spending habits, including that he spent $870,000 on prostitutes, sex club memberships and porn.

Hunter 'spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,' the indictment said. 

That breakdown includes $683,000 on 'various women' as well as almost $400,000 on 'clothing and accessories'. 

It also alleges that he spent $188,000 on 'adult entertainment' and took out $1.6million from ATMs. 

This period of Hunter's life was well documented in his memoir, Beautiful Things, which talks about his addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine.

The government's tab said that the younger Biden spent $71,869 on rehab during this time period. 

These two cases come as President Joe Biden is already facing a tough reelection fight, with Republicans more than happy to put Hunter's stumbles on display and try to link the president to his son's foreign business deals in Ukraine and China. 

Christie predicted Friday, however, that Hunter's legal drama would extend beyond the 2024 presidential election.  

'My guess is that the gun charges could potentially happen prior to the election, but on the tax charges that have just been brought, my guess is that there won't be enough time for that to start before the election,' Christie told Mitchell.