What penalties does each of the 34 felony charges in the 2023 federal indictment carry under federal law?
Executive summary
Public reporting does not supply a single, sourced list of “34 felony charges in the 2023 federal indictment” with statutory citations, so a definitive per-count penalty table cannot be assembled from the provided material; available reporting instead identifies categories of federal counts (classified‑documents/Espionage Act counts, false‑statement counts, obstruction and conspiracy counts) and describes their statutory maxima and sentencing framework [1] [2] [3]. The analysis below explains what the cited sources do show about how federal penalties are set and gives the statutory maximums and sentencing context for the types of felonies alleged in 2023 indictments referenced in the coverage [1] [4] [5].
1. What the sources actually establish — the limits of public reporting
The provided sources confirm that high‑profile 2023 federal indictments included multiple felony categories — for example, the classified‑documents indictment charged counts under the Espionage Act, false‑statement statutes, obstruction and related conspiracy counts — and that the “most serious charges” in that case carried a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment, with no mandatory minimums noted in that reporting [1]; Ballotpedia separately documents a related 34‑count conviction for falsifying business records in a New York state prosecution (not federal) and so cannot be used to infer federal statutory penalties [2]. Because the exact list of 34 federal felony counts the question refers to does not appear in the supplied set, this analysis refrains from inventing per‑count penalties and instead maps the common federal statutes reported in 2023 to their statutory maximums and sentencing context [1] [2].
2. How federal penalties are set — statutory maxima, mandatory minimums, and guidelines
Federal criminal penalties are set by statute (the U.S. Code) which prescribes maximum prison terms and sometimes mandatory minimums; actual sentences are then calculated under the United States Sentencing Guidelines and federal statute factors such as supervised release, fines and restitution [4] [5]. The Sentencing Commission updated guidelines effective November 1, 2023, which can affect guideline ranges and departures but do not change statutory maximums [3] [5]. Thus knowing a charge’s statute gives its ceiling, but the guidelines, offense conduct, criminal history, and any plea agreement determine the likely term [5] [4].
3. Statutory penalties for the most‑reported counts in the 2023 federal indictments
Reported coverage of 2023 federal indictments lists Espionage Act counts (classified‑documents), false‑statement counts, obstruction and conspiracy counts; the most serious of those federal offenses in the reporting carried a statutory maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment per count in that charging scheme, and the reporting explicitly noted no mandatory minimum sentences for those counts [1]. Separate general practice coverage reminds that many federal fraud, drug and firearms statutes carry distinct mandatory minimums and different maxima, and that conspiracy counts often mirror the penalty of the underlying substantive crime [6] [7]. Because the supplied reporting does not enumerate each of 34 federal counts with its exact statutory citation, readers should consult the indictment text or the U.S. Code to get each count’s precise maximum and any mandatory minimum [1] [8].
4. What determines the sentence if a conviction on multiple felony counts occurs
Even if individual counts carry high statutory maxima (for example, up to 20 years on certain obstruction or Espionage Act counts as reported), federal courts generally sentence under the Guidelines with concurrent/ consecutive considerations, supervised release periods, and potential fines; the Sentencing Commission’s 2023 amendments and statutes like the First Step Act also affect reductions and safety‑valve relief that can materially change time served [3] [5] [4]. In short, statutory maximums set the legal ceiling, but guideline ranges, prosecutorial charging and plea strategy, and judicial discretion determine the real exposure.
5. Reporting gaps, alternative views and where to look next
The sources supplied make clear why a per‑count penalty list cannot be produced here: the public summaries report categories and maxima but do not provide a full, sourced list of the “34 felony charges” and their U.S. Code citations; Ballotpedia documents the state‑level 34‑count conviction on falsifying business records which is a different statutory scheme, underscoring the need to consult the actual indictment or the statutory texts for each federal count to compute precise penalties [2] [1]. For readers seeking definitive per‑count penalty figures, the primary documents are the indictment itself and the relevant sections of the U.S. Code, supplemented by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the Sentencing Commission’s commentary [8] [5].