WASHINGTON — Republican leadersexpressed satisfaction Tuesday afterHunter Biden was convictedon three counts of lying about his drug addiction to buy a gun — while demanding that his father, President Biden, face greater legal scrutiny for his ties to the first son’s foreign business dealings.
“Now it’s time for DOJ to investigate the millions of dollars in payouts from foreign countries looking to curry favor with his father,”tweetedHouse Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)after Hunter, 54, became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of felonies.“We will continue to demand accountability for the corrupt business dealings of the Biden family.”
“Today’s verdict is a step toward accountability,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), a leader of the impeachment inquiry into alleged corruption by Joe Biden.
“[U]ntil the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ corrupt influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden family, it will be clear department officials continue to cover for the Big Guy, Joe Biden,” Comer said.
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“This is just the beginning of holding the Biden Crime Family accountable,”tweetedRep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) in agreement. “Now, let’s do Joe Biden.”
Hunterwas found guiltyby a federal jury in his home state of Delaware after three hours of deliberations across two days.
Prosecutorssuccessfullyargued that the younger Biden knowingly fibbed that he was not addicted to any illegal substance on a federal gun purchase formin October 2018, when in fact he was in the throes of a crack cocainedependency.
Many Republicans noted that the Biden Justice Departmentnegotiated a probation-only plea dealfor the first son just last year on both the gun offenses and alleged tax fraud.
The so-called “sweetheart bargain” was reached last June, just weeks after IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler allegeda sweeping coverup to shield the Biden familyand the president himself from a probe focused on foreign income received during and immediately after Biden’s vice presidency.
Follow the latest on Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial:
- Hunter Biden guilty of felony gun charges, faces 25 years in prison
- Joe Biden reveals whether he will pardon Hunter after first son convicted on felony gun charges in first comments since verdict
- Hunter Biden breaks silence after felony gun conviction, says he’s ‘disappointed’ by outcome
- Hunter Biden juror reveals the damning evidence that lead to conviction at gun trial
- Here’s what’s next for Hunter Biden following his conviction on gun charges
“The public would do well to remember that the Justice Department was dragged kicking and screaming into this prosecution of Hunter,” said Tom Fitton, the president of conservative legal group Judicial Watch.
The gun case went to trial — along with a $1.4 million tax evasion case set to begin Sept. 5 in Los Angeles— because Hunter walked away from the controversial plea deal last July over demands for even broader immunity for past conduct.
The younger Biden’s legal team argued at the time that prosecutors had agreed to near-universal immunity, but questioning by Judge Maryellen Noreika — who also presided over the just-concluded weapons trial — revealed that recently hired prosecutors didn’t agree.
The first son ditched the plea deal amid defenseteam concern he could face charges for violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act in overseas business dealings in which he regularly involved his father.
A document known as a diversion agreementlater surfacedsupporting the first son’s viewpoint that prosecutors secretly had agreed to more expansive immunity.
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“Never forget DOJ tried to avoid this trial & verdict by giving Hunter a sweetheart plea deal. Until the judge exposed them,”tweetedSen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
“Remember this was Joe Biden’s corrupt DOJ that tried to negotiate outside immunity unrelated to this case,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).“Today is the first step in delivering accountability for the Biden Crime Family.”
Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, said:“This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine.”
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Leavitt added:“Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5th, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit.”
Mike Davis, a prominent conservative legal commentator, praised the Delaware jury for having“surprisingly put the facts and law above politics.”
“But there is also overwhelming evidence of Joe Biden’s foreign corruption, which greatly compromises our national security,” added Davis, who previously urged Republican prosecutors tolook into Joe Biden’s alleged linksto Chinese government-linked CEFC China Energy, which paid entities linked to Hunter and first brother James Biden more than $7 million in 2017 and 2018.
Joe Biden was known among his family’s associates as the “Big Guy” and was penciled in for a 10% cut of the CEFC venture, emails recovered from Hunter’s abandoned laptop revealed.
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“Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, handpicked by both Democrat senators, only brought these gun charges after he got caught by an honest judge attempting to jam through a sweetheart deal, with a back-door pardon, to protect the Biden family,” Davis said.
“If Hunter Biden were a black man,he’d be sent to prison,” Davis concluded. “Joe Biden claimshe won’t pardon his son. Don’t hold your breath. He’ll do it the day after the election.”
Joe Biden, 81, has consistently claimed he “never” discussed business with his son or brother and said in December andagain in Marchthat he“didnot”interactwith their partners.
However, evidence — including photos, emails and witness statements — indicate that the president actually did interact with his family’s associates fromtwo Chinese government-linked business venturesand their patrons fromKazakhstan,Mexico,RussiaandUkraine.
Biden in February avoided criminal charges himself for allegedly mishandling classified information from his eight-year vice presidency and 36 years as a senator.
Special counsel Robert Hurwrote in a Feb. 8 report that he found evidencethat Biden “willfully” mishandled such records, but that he should not face charges in part because “at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Trump, by contrast, faces charges of mishandling classified records after leaving office as president and a separate federal case for allegedly conspiring to stay in office after his loss to Biden in the 2020 election — in addition to similar Georgia state charges in a case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, an elected Democrat.
Trump, 77, became thefirst former president convicted at trialMay 30 when he was found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal evidence of hush money payments in a case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, also an elected Democrat.
Trump faces sentencing July 11. It’s unclear when or if his other cases will go to trial.
Hunter Biden’s conviction drew some unease from libertarian-leaning Republicans who support expanded gun rights — as the first son has signaled a likely appeal tochallenge federal restrictions on illegal drug usersowning guns.
“Hunter might deserve to be in jail for something, but purchasing a gun is not it,”tweetedRep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). “There are millions of marijuana users who own guns in this country, and none of them should be in jail for purchasing or possessing a firearm against current laws.”
