Hunter Biden’s plea deal has Republicans in a dither, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy who summarized the episode as, “It continues to show the two-tier system in America.”
Get used to the new buzzword in Republican talking points, “sweetheart deal.”
“If you are the president’s leading political opponent, the DOJ tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time. But if you are the president’s son, you get a sweetheart deal,” McCarthy said.
There are also some mixed reactions from certain Republicans.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment about the younger Biden as he walked to the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon, and focused instead on “the Biden administration’s radical nominees” and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune was also reserved, and pointed out that the U.S. attorney who cut the deal was a Trump appointee.
“The justice system, I guess, has got to work its way out. He’s going to plead to a couple tax evasion charges and a gun charge. I don’t know that this is necessarily the end of the road for him, probably not. At least the preliminary stage of it is done,” Thune told reporters.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski wasn’t in the mood: “I don’t have any reaction, ask me about something else.”
Sen. Mitt Romney said, “This is the sort of thing for which there are typically plea deals that are executed“… I don’t know that there’s any evidence that suggests this is out of character with other individuals who come in with similar infractions.”
Romney also said that he “felt very sorry for him and for his family. I respect the president for saying he loves his son. That’s a good thing even if your son does embarrassing things.”