Justice has not been served.
On Tuesday, former President Trump expressed his opinion on the plea agreement involving Hunter Biden, describing it as equivalent to a “traffic ticket“. Trump criticized the United States justice system, labeling it as “corrupt.”
In an interview with Fox News following the announcement of Biden’s plea deal, Trump stated that the lenient treatment of Hunter Biden was a disgrace to the system, America, and represented prosecutorial misconduct and election interference, all rolled into one. “They gave him a traffic ticket and cleared everything up,” Trump said.
According to the agreement disclosed by Delaware’s U.S. attorney, David Weiss, Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax. Additionally, Biden has consented to a pretrial diversion agreement relating to a separate charge of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
Trump, who recently entered a not guilty plea for 37 federal charges linked to allegations of improperly retaining classified records during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, asserted that if his own sons were under investigation, the circumstances would be different. He criticized the justice system and the FBI, claiming they were corrupt. Trump suggested that a family member of his would likely face a significantly longer prison sentence, possibly “hundreds of years.”
Weiss’ office explained that without the plea agreement, Hunter Biden could have faced a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison for each tax charge and up to 10 years for the firearm charge. However, the court must still approve the deal.
Weiss’ office stated, “A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.” They also mentioned that the investigation is ongoing, implying that there may be further developments.
Hunter Biden’s legal representative, Chris Clark of Clark Smith Villazor, acknowledged the two agreements between his client and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Clark clarified that the resolution of the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden involved taking responsibility for two misdemeanor failures to file tax payments. The firearm charge will be addressed separately through a pretrial diversion agreement, independent of the plea agreement.
Hunter Biden has been the subject of a federal investigation since 2018, with the initial focus being his “tax affairs.” The investigation was triggered by suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding funds originating from China and other foreign nations.
The firearms charge stemmed from allegations that Hunter Biden provided false information during a gun purchase in 2018. According to a police report from October 23, 2018, it was claimed that Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, discarded a gun belonging to Hunter in a dumpster near a school.
Records showed that Hunter Biden had purchased a firearm earlier that month.
It is worth noting that Hunter Biden was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.