Republicans express outrage over Hunter Biden plea deal

Allies of President Biden described his son Hunter’s federal plea deal Tuesday on misdemeanor tax and gun charges as evidence of the integrity of the criminal justice system.

But former president Donald Trump, who has separately been indicted by the Department of Justice, joined other Republicans in calling the plea confirmation of the opposite.

“Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere ‘traffic ticket.’ Our system is BROKEN!” Trump posted after the plea was announced on Truth Social. He did not provide evidence for his corruption claims.

Trump’s rivals in the Republican nomination fight joined Trump in his outrage, making similar claims. Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy described the deal as “an Orwellian gesture that gives the news media exactly the level of cover that they needed” to continue justifying the Trump indictment. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement that the deal “only raises further questions about Hunter Biden’s crimes and the double standard of justice.”

“If Hunter was not connected to the elite DC class he would have been put in jail a long time ago,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a tweet.

Congressional Republicans echoed the concern. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called the plea deal “a stunt.” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called the agreement “a slap on the wrist.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called it a “sweetheart deal.”

“Lets be clear: the Department of Justice’s charges against President Biden’s son represents a two-tiered system of justice,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement.

David Brock, the president of Facts First USA, a group founded to push back on Republican attacks against Hunter Biden, said the charging decision against the president’s son meant that justice had been served.

“This episode just underscores the integrity of President Biden - he kept Trump’s U.S. attorney on to investigate a matter involving his own son,” Brock said in a statement. “This President has repeatedly demonstrated his belief in the rule of law and the independence of the Justice Department.”

Hunter Biden, 53, agreed to plead guilty to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee, of misdemeanor charges of willful failure to pay taxes and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to a court filing. Both charges date back to before his father’s election as president, during a time when he has admitted to regularly using crack cocaine.

The firearm charge, related to Hunter Biden denying his drug use when he purchased a gun, is expected to result in pretrial diversion. He is also expected to face no jail time for the tax charges, which arise over debts that Biden’s attorneys say he has since paid to the government.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has said he gave full control of the investigation to Weiss and would not interfere in any charging decision. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said President Biden has no involvement with the criminal investigations of his son or Trump.

“The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment,” White House spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement Tuesday after the plea announcement.

Republicans seeking the White House have for months pointed to Hunter’s legal troubles and ongoing investigations by House Republicans of the Biden family business with foreign companies as evidence of what former vice president Mike Pence, like Comer, has called a “two-tiered system of justice that in unfolding in America.”

After Trump was indicted on federal charges related to mishandling classified documents and obstruction of justice, DeSantis suggested that the Justice Department was playing favorites.

“Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” he asked in a tweet, referring to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Trump, for his part, has claimed without specific evidence that his own indictment is part of an effort by the Justice Department to distract from Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, which has uncovered unverified allegations - but no proof - that President Biden was involved in his son’s business dealings.

As president, Trump demanded that his Justice Department investigate Hunter Biden, an unusual public demand by a president to investigate a political rival. After his own federal indictment, Trump cast the investigation of Hunter Biden as an effort to make his own prosecution look more justified.

“They’ll probably come up with a jaywalking charge on Hunter in the not too distant future, you know, a very small charge, so they can say well, ‘It’s fair,’” Trump said in a June 11 appearance on a radio show hosted by Roger Stone, his former adviser. “But there’s a very unfair situation. We’re living in a very, very corrupt country.”

Stone was convicted of seven felonies related to obstructing an investigation of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 elections. Trump commuted Stone’s sentence before leaving office.

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The Washington Post’s Amy B Wang contributed to this report.