Hunter Biden was convicted on all three felony gun charges he faced, and Republicans say it was a distraction from larger corruption allegations.
Topline
Top Republican lawmakers refused to celebrate Hunter Biden’s conviction on felony gun charges Tuesday, instead peddling an unfounded claim the guilty verdict serves as a distraction from more salacious corruption allegations against the Biden family—all while former President Donald Trump and his allies continue to argue the federal justice system is rigged.Key Facts
When asked if the conviction would “undercut” Republicans’ claims of a so-called two-tiered justice system, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said emphatically it does not, arguing “clearly the evidence was overwhelming” in the Biden trial, and that charges in four indictments against Trump were “obviously brought for political purposes.”
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who is overseeing an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden that has thus far uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing, argued the verdict is “a step toward accountability” and called for investigations into “everyone involved in the Bidens’ corrupt influence peddling schemes,” saying that until that happens, “it will be clear department officials continue to cover for the Big Guy, Joe Biden.”
Hard-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene argued the “biggest crimes of the Biden Crime Family remain untouched,” alluding to alleged foreign money directed to President Joe Biden from foreign influencers—a key GOP argument that both Bidens have rejected—with Greene claiming Hunter Biden “just became the Deep State’s sacrificial lamb to show that Justice is ‘balanced’ while the other Biden crimes remain ignored.”
Other Republican lawmakers pointed to a laptop Hunter Biden reportedly owned that allegedly detailed a scheme to direct money to Joe Biden, which Republicans have claimed is a smoking gun in proving a massive Biden family corruption plot.
