Obama-era AG says Hunter Biden, Trump should be treated ‘just like any other American citizen’ in federal probes

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Sunday that Hunter Biden should be treated “just like any other American citizen” by federal authorities reportedly probing his business dealings abroad.

“The defendant should not be treated any more harshly because of who he is, who he is related to or given breaks because of who he is or who he is related to,” Holder said of the president’s son while appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“He should be treated, just like former President Trump, should be treated just like any other American citizen,” Holder added.

“If there is culpability, that person should be held liable for his or her acts. And if there is not a basis for a case, a case should not be brought,” he said.

Federal investigators have reportedly compiled sufficient evidence to charge Hunter Biden with crimes related to taxes and a gun purchase, and the case is now before a U.S. district attorney in Delaware.

Holder, who led the Justice Department during the Obama administration, said the case will likely reach the attorney general’s desk before any decision is made about charges.

“That’s certainly the way I would have run the Justice Department. And my guess is also that that would be something that [Attorney General] Merrick Garland will be doing as well. That determination will be made I suspect in Washington, D.C.,” Holder said.

Republicans are gearing up to take the House majority in the next Congress with plans to launch a number of investigations into matters such as the administration’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border crisis, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the COVID-19 pandemic.

They’ve also shown a keen interest in Hunter Biden’s business dealings and whether his foreign ties have influenced President Biden.

Holder on Sunday also weighed in on the Justice Department’s criminal probes into Trump, saying those overseeing the investigations just need to “make the determination based on the facts and the law.”

“And the United States, I think, has the capacity to absorb a possible indictment and to deal with it fairly and to get on with the business of the country,” Holder added.

Garland last month appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the inquiries into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and into his handling of classified materials found by the FBI at his Mar-a-Lago resort after he left the White House.

Holder said the political blowback would be significant regardless of what comes of the cases but noted that Garland has said he’ll make his determination “without fear or favor.”

“The reality is that if he makes a determination one way or the other, it is going to be divisive,” Holder said.