Several 2024 presidential candidates were called “corrupt” on Tuesday after it was revealed that Hunter Biden had secured an interim federal plea bargain following an investigation that led to a firearms felony and two tax misdemeanors. It targeted the “partisan” Department of Justice.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, “Hunter appears to have signed a mistress deal and appears not to have been charged with any major corruption allegations. If I had, I would have been in prison a long time ago,” he wrote. A tweet shortly after the plea deal was announced.
DeSantis’ tweet was accompanied by a video of him attending an election event highlighting “two different rules” based on whether an American is “well placed in elite society”.
Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty to federal taxes and gun charges
Former President Donald Trump has accused the plea bargain of being a “traffic ticket” to President Biden’s son and said it showed the U.S. judicial system was “corrupt.”
“They got him to cut a ticket and put everything away,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “This is a disgrace to the regime, a disgrace to the United States, a highly unfair situation, prosecutorial misconduct, election interference, and all rolled into one. There is.”
President Trump last week pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into allegations of improper retention of classified records, but if one of his sons was under investigation, he would be “not guilty.” It will be another world,” he said.
From left, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Hunter Biden, former South Carolina Governor Nicky Haley, and former President Donald Trump. (Paul Morigi | Allison Joyce/Anadolu Agency | Winn McNamee | Scott Olson | Bing Guan/Bloomberg)
“If Hunter was a Republican, he would have been in prison years ago,” DeSantis said in the video.
Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two counts of willfully failing to pay federal income taxes, under an agreement announced Tuesday by Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss. Biden also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement with respect to another charge of firearm possession by a controlled substance illicit user or addict.
Weiss’ office suggested that in the absence of a plea bargain, Hunter Biden could face up to 12 months in prison each for two tax charges and up to 10 years in prison for a firearms charge. . The deal is still subject to judge approval. “A federal district court judge will determine the sentencing after considering U.S. sentencing guidelines and other legal factors,” Weiss’s office said, adding that the investigation was “ongoing.”
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who ran for president in February, also responded to the news, telling Fox News Digital that the plea bargain was a means to “induce collective amnesia in the American people.”
“Hunter Biden’s plea bargain is aimed at inducing mass amnesia in the American public. Forget the ’10 things for big shots.’ ‘Nothing to see here. No jail time for hunters.And now the executive state can justify its actions against Trump. It’s the justice of ‘equality’.”
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital that the plea deal was intended to “induce mass amnesia in the American people.” (Eva Marie Uzkategi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump says Hunter Biden fled with ‘traffic ticket’, accuses ‘corrupt’ justice system
Discussing the plea bargain, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley argued that it represented a “double standard of justice” in the United States.
“This plea bargain only raises further questions about Hunter Biden’s crimes and the double standards of justice in the federal government,” Haley said in a statement to Fox. “There are clearly more questions for the Biden family to answer.”
Echoing Haley’s point, Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder said the plea deal between Hunter Biden and the Justice Department was more symbolic of a “partisan justice system.”
“The agreement with Justice Department’s Hunter Biden not to imprison him after pleading guilty to three federal crimes is another example of our partisan justice system,” Elder told Fox. Told. “Considering the politically motivated prosecutions of Donald Trump and Daniel Penney, pro-George Soros national district attorneys refusing to enforce the law, and the sweet deal with the Biden family, our country It’s clear the criminal justice system is bad. It’s broken.”
Republican presidential candidate and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder said Hunter Biden’s plea deal with the Justice Department was more symbolic of a “partisan justice system.” (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Similarly, Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina called the deal “another reason why Americans have lost faith in the Biden Department of Justice.”
“While the Bidens are slapped on the wrist with child gloves, the DOJ is throwing kitchen sinks at political opponents, raiding pro-life homes, and targeting parents as ‘domestic terrorists,’” Scott said. said in a statement. fox. “I cannot stress enough the importance of investigating Grassley and Comer, restoring credibility in our nation’s justice system, and the need to bring down Joe Biden in 2024.”
White House Accepts Hunter Biden Plea Deal: President, First Lady ‘I Love My Son’
When asked about the news Tuesday morning, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told FOX, “I don’t really know enough about this news to make a useful comment.”
Asked about the big picture and whether he believes Hunter Biden could anchor his father’s re-election campaign, Kennedy said, “I don’t know about that. I don’t think there’s anything to add… I understand the family’s point of view.” said. “The problem is big and complex, and we all have it. I’m going to let President Biden handle his own family matters.”
“The president and first lady love their son and are rooting for him as he continues to rebuild his life,” White House Press Secretary Ian Sams said in a statement Tuesday morning. “I have no further comments.” (Brendan Smiarowski/AFP)
Hunter’s criminal attorney, Chris Clark of Clark Smith Virazol Law Firm, said: “I am pleased to announce that two agreements have been announced between my client, Hunter Biden, and the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office. It is my understanding that the five-year investigation has now ended.” The effect on hunters has been resolved. “
“Mr Hunter is responsible for two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes on time under a plea bargain,” Clark said. “Firearms charges that are subject to pretrial diversion agreements and not subject to plea bargaining will also be brought by the government.”
Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018. His “tax” investigation began amid the discovery of suspicious activity reports (SARs) involving funds from “China and other foreign countries.” The firearms charges stemmed from allegations that Hunter Biden lied when purchasing a gun in 2018.
U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC, June 20, 2023 (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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A person with knowledge of the Oct. 23, 2018 police report told Fox News that it belonged to Harry Biden, the widow of President Biden’s late son Beau, who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time. He said that it shows that he threw a gun that was being held. A hunter in a trash can behind the market near the school.
firearm transaction Reports reviewed by Fox News show Hunter Biden purchased the gun earlier that month.
“The president and first lady love their son and are rooting for him as he continues to rebuild his life,” White House Press Secretary Ian Sams said in a statement Tuesday morning. “I have no further comments.”
Brooke Singman and Paul Steinhauser of FOX News contributed to this report.
