Republicans running in the 2024 presidential primary seized on news that President Biden’s son Hunter Biden reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors Tuesday, using the development to attack the president.
According to court papers filed Tuesday, Hunter Biden is set to plead guilty to tax crimes and reached a diversion agreement relating to unlawful possession of a weapon.
Former President Trump compared the deal to a “traffic ticket” in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“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 wrote in the post.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc., called the agreement “a sweetheart deal” that was made “in order to make their bogus case to ‘Get Trump’ appear fair.”
“Meanwhile, Biden’s DOJ continues to turn a blind eye to the Biden family’s extensive corruption and bribery scheme,” Leavitt said. “The American people need President Trump back in office to appoint a truly independent special prosecutor that will finally bring justice.”
Trump’s top Republican rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shared a tweet with a video of the governor speaking to a crowd saying “If Hunter were a Republican he would have been in jail years ago.”
“Looks like Hunter received a sweetheart deal and is not facing any charges on the massive corruption allegations,” DeSantis said in the tweet. “If Hunter was not connected to the elite DC class he would have been put in jail a long time ago.”
Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley released her own statement, saying the plea deal raises questions of a “double standard.”
“This plea deal only raises further questions about Hunter Biden’s crimes and the double standard of justice in our federal government,” Haley said. “There is clearly a lot more the Biden family has to answer for.”
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R) said the plea deal “is another reason Americans have lost faith in Biden’s Justice Department” and praised congressional Republicans’ investigations into Hunter Biden.
“While the Biden family gets a slap on the wrist with kid gloves, DOJ throws the kitchen sink at political opponents, raids the homes of pro-life advocates, and targets parents as ‘domestic terrorists,’” Scott said. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the [Sen. Chuck ] Grassley [R-Iowa] and [Rep. James] Comer [R-Ky.] investigations, the need for restoring credibility to our justice system, and defeating Joe Biden in 2024.”
Vivek Ramaswamy blasted the plea deal as “a joke” in a tweet.
“It’s a feigned retreat & reveals they’re even more scared than ever of scrutiny for the real crimes,” Ramaswamy said. “The real target is the audio tapes of the alleged bribe for Hunter & Joe Biden from the Ukrainian executive of oligarch-owned Burisma. And the hundreds of billions of U.S. taxpayer funds kicked back to Ukraine to make good on the favor. Don’t buy the deflection, it’s just a smokescreen.”
Various Republicans have repeatedly suggested Hunter Biden was corrupt going back to the 2020 presidential race. House Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings, along with other family members, the president and their associates. However, Republicans have not provided any evidence that connects the president to any of his son’s business dealings. The president has denied having any knowledge of the issue.