Some Republicans said Thursday’s indictment of Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, on gun charges wasn’t enough.
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who has led efforts to find and release information to the public in his investigation into Biden family influence-peddling case, criticized the announcement.
“The Justice Department’s sweetheart plea deal fell apart after a federal judge refused to rubber stamp it,” Comer said in a statement. “Mountains of evidence reveals that Hunter Biden likely committed several felonies and Americans expect the Justice Department to apply the law equally.”
Comer said the U.S. Department of Justice and special counsel U.S. Attorney David Weiss must dig deeper.
“Today’s charges against Hunter Biden are a very small start, but unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump, who is facing nearly 100 charges in four separate criminal cases, also was critical of the Department of Justice.
“This, the gun charge, is the only crime that Hunter Biden committed that does not implicate Crooked Joe Biden. One down, Eleven to go!” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform Thursday. “The Democrats, with all of their horrible, very unfair, and mostly illegal Witch Hunts, have started a process that is very dangerous for our Country. They have opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box, and it is possible that the USA will never be the same again.”
Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday in federal court in Delaware on three counts tied to the possession of a gun while using drugs. Two of the counts involve allegations that he allegedly lied on a form attesting that he was not using illegal drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra 38SPL revolver in October 2018. The third count alleges that he possessed a firearm while using illegal drugs.
The charges were expected after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel in August in Hunter Biden’s criminal case. That came after Hunter Biden’s plea deal fell apart in July after last-minute disagreements over the degree to which Hunter could face future charges for other alleged crimes still potentially under investigation. That plea deal mainly revolved around alleged tax crimes and a gun charge.
Hunter Biden faces up to 10 years on the first two counts and five years on the third count if convicted.
