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WASHINGTON (CN) — Hunter Biden and the Justice Department resolved a five-year investigation Tuesday with a plea to federal charges, but House Republicans will continue digging for evidence of the president’s involvement in his son’s business ventures.
“Let’s be clear: the Department of Justice’s charges against President Biden’s son Hunter reveals a two-tiered system of justice,” Kentucky Congressman James Comer wrote in a statement. “Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery.”
In its monthslong probe, Comer’s House Oversight Committee has grilled administration officials and dissected financial records in a quest to show that President Joe Biden exploited his political influence over the years to advance family business dealings.
Comer insisted Tuesday that this investigation would not be swayed by emerging revelations that Hunter Biden will plead guilty to a trio of minor charges — two counts of failing to pay federal income taxes and a separate charge related to firearms possession. Biden secured a pretrial diversion agreement for the latter, meaning he could avoid jail time for the offense.
“We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden’s involvement in the family’s schemes are revealed," Comer vowed.
Fellow Republican Marsha Blackburn sought Tuesday to tie the Justice Department charges against Hunter Biden to last week’s federal indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“It’s no coincidence that less than a week after President Trump is arraigned by the DOJ, Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to a sweetheart deal with no jail time,” the Tennessee senator tweeted. “For [Attorney General Merrick] Garland to maintain his mantra that there is one standard of justice is pathetic.”
Multiple outlets have reported that Trump, facing historic federal charges related to his handling of classified documents, refused to entertain the idea of a plea deal with investigating special counsel Jack Smith.
Some congressional Democrats, meanwhile, positioned the plea deal as a rebuke to GOP claims of corruption in the Biden family.
California Congressman Eric Swalwell, for one, pointed out that the Justice Department started its investigation into Hunter Biden during the Trump administration. He argued that the years of investigation had turned up no evidence for what he called “bogus MAGA claims,” and that the president’s son has taken responsibility for his actions.
Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House oversight panel, blasted his colleagues across the aisle for their investigation into the Biden family. He called the charges against Hunter Biden an example of the Justice Department’s ability to operate independently from the White House.
“Oversight Committee Republicans have advanced debunked conspiracy theories about President Biden and are now, again, wailing about the work of a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney,” Raskin said in a statement. “This development reflects the Justice Department’s continued institutional independence … even in the face of constant criticism and heckling by my GOP colleagues who think that the system of justice should only follow their partisan wishes.”
The White House offered limited comment on the plea deal Tuesday. “The President and the First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” the administration said in a statement.
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