Reactions from Republicans poured in after Hunter Biden was found guilty on all charges Tuesday morning in his historic criminal case focused on his purchase of a firearm in 2018.
Last year, Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time for his felony gun charge. But that arrangement – dubbed a “sweetheart deal” by Republicans – fell apart when it was revealed Biden is still under investigation for possible Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) crimes.
“Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal was smoked out after scrutiny by a federal judge,” House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement after Tuesday’s verdict. “Today’s verdict is a step toward accountability but until 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.”
JURORS MIGHT BELIEVE HUNTER BIDEN IS GUILTY AND VOTE TO ACQUIT HIM ANYWAY
Hunter Biden departs from federal court, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
In the months preceding Hunter Biden’s trial, Comer pledged to target President Biden, asserting “this was always about Joe Biden” and vowed to continue investigating him in the subsequent stage of Biden’s impeachment inquiry.
“Remember, this is an investigation of Joe Biden,” Comer said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo. “Hunter Biden, Jim Biden, Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer — these are all witnesses in an investigation of Joe Biden. This was always about Joe Biden.”
Stephen Miller, former senior adviser to President Donald Trump, said in a post on X following the verdict that the “DOJ is running election interference for Joe Biden— that’s why DOJ did NOT charge Hunter with being an unregistered foreign agent (FARA) or any crime connected with foreign corruption.”
“Why? Because all the evidence would lead back to JOE. DOJ is Joe’s election protection racket,” he said.
In response, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said, “And yet Dems will now point to Hunter’s conviction as evidence that ‘there’s no lawfare.'”
For his part, Rep. Matt Gatez, R-Fla., said on X, “The Hunter Biden gun conviction is kinda dumb tbh.”
Other Republicans used news of the guilty verdict to circle back to concerns over Biden family business dealings.
Sen. Bill Haggerty, R-Tenn., said “Biden DOJ is trying to distract Americans from the $20 million the Biden family raked in from China, Russia, Ukraine, etc.”
“Can Joe Biden explain what the money was for?”
Hunter Biden has previously claimed he didn’t “stand to gain anything” from his role on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma despite it leading to him making millions of dollars.
HUNTER BIDEN ENTERS DAY 6 OF CRIMINAL TRIAL WITH POSSIBILITY OF TAKING THE STAND
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden arrive for the reading of the verdict in his trial on criminal gun charges, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., June 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Hannah Beier)
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also posted his reaction to the verdict on X.
“Never forget DOJ tried to avoid this trial & verdict by giving Hunter a sweetheart plea deal. Until the judge exposed them,” he said.
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told reporters he’ll “be very curious to see when they schedule the actual sentencing.”
“That will be interesting because then you get to see if they’re going to do it before, after it impacts Joe Biden if he gives him a pardon.”
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., also posted on X: “GUILTY. Accountability for the Biden Crime Family at last?”
“The Biden Crime Family is exposed again,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote on X. “No one, including Joe Biden’s son, is above the law. It’s time the DOJ takes action on Hunter Biden for using his father’s position to make millions of dollars from foreign influence peddling and even lying to Congress about it.”
“In 2020, Blinken led 50 former intel officials in falsely claiming the Hunter laptop story was Russian disinfo,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., wrote on X. “Social media companies then silenced all who dissented including the New York Post. Now Joe Biden’s OWN DOJ is using that same laptop as evidence to prosecute Hunter.”
HUNTER BIDEN’S DRUG USE: WHAT THE PROSECUTION NEEDS TO PROVE AND WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden arrive for the reading of the verdict in his trial on criminal gun charges, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., June 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Hannah Beier)
“Today is the first step in delivering accountability for the Biden crime family,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said to reporters Tuesday. “We must and we will continue as House Republicans to investigate the Biden crime family, for the corrupting influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden crime family members. So this is one step, but again, it goes back to the corruption of Joe Biden’s DOJ as they tried to negotiate a sweetheart plea deal.”
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Hunter Biden faced a trial this month that lasted more than a week and included emotional testimony from members of his family, including daughter Naomi Biden, ex-wife Kathleen Buhle and sister-in-law turned girlfriend, Hallie Biden.
Prosecutors worked to prove that Hunter Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018 when he ticked a box labeled “No” when asked if he is an unlawful user of a firearm or addicted to controlled substances. Hunter Biden purchased the gun from a store called StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington.
The president’s son pleaded not guilty in the case.
Hunter Biden has a well-documented history of drug abuse, which was most notably described in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” which walks readers through his previous need to smoke crack cocaine every 20 minutes, how his addiction was so prolific that he referred to himself as a “crack daddy” to drug dealers, and anecdotes revolving around drug deals, such as a Washington, D.C., crack dealer Biden nicknamed “Bicycles.”
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.