McCarthy on Hunter Biden's Plea Deal: 'It Continues to Show the Two-Tier System in America' (June 20, 2023)

When the Justice Department’s plea deal with Hunter Biden became public, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called it proof of a double standard. “It continues to show the two-tier system in America,” McCarthy said, comparing it with the federal charges against former President Donald Trump [1].

“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,” he said, according to Fox News [1].

Under the deal, Fox reported, “President Biden’s son agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, and to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.” [1]

The video above shows McCarthy’s reaction on June 20, 2023. McCarthy’s quotes are as reported by Fox News and The Daily Signal, and the President’s remarks are from the official records published by the American Presidency Project [1][2][3][4].

”I’m Very Proud of My Son”

The same day, reporters shouted questions at President Joe Biden at an event in San Francisco. “Mr. President, have you spoken to your son today? Have you spoken to Hunter today?” one asked. “Mr. President, any reaction to his guilty plea?” asked another [2].

“I’m very proud of my son,” Biden said. “Did you encourage him to take the plea deal, Mr. President?” a reporter asked. The transcript records no answer [2].

The pool reported that Biden “was asked that multiple times. The first time he was asked he just smiled. He did not respond to a shouted question about if he encouraged him to take the guilty plea.” [3]

“A Sweetheart Deal”

Critics pointed to people who went to prison for less. “Other Americans facing similar federal gun charges are facing months behind bars,” Fox reported, citing the case of Deja Taylor, a Virginia mother whose 6-year-old son shot his teacher [1].

“Of cases involving false statements in buying a gun that are referred for prosecution, over 60% are prosecuted,” gun researcher John Lott told Fox News Digital. “The evidence in the Hunter Biden case is rock solid.” [1]

Taylor’s attorney, James Ellenson, put it bluntly: “Unfortunately, Deja’s father is not the president of the United States so no sweetheart deals for us.” [1]

Fox also cited rapper Kodak Black, who got “46 months for the exact same thing that Hunter Biden is not even pleading to,” his attorney Bradford Cohen said. “He’s actually getting a diversion program, which you almost never see diversion programs in federal court,” Cohen said [1].

Lott also disputed the description of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as simply a Trump appointee. “Yet, President Obama originally appointed him as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware,” Lott said [1].

”Nothing to Our Investigation”

McCarthy said the deal would not slow House Republicans down. “This does nothing to our investigation,” he told reporters, according to The Daily Signal. “Actually, it should enhance our investigation because the DOJ should not be able to withhold any information now saying that it is a pending investigation. They should be able to provide Chairman Comer with any information that he requires.” [4]

The U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware said otherwise: “The investigation is ongoing,” its press release said, The Daily Signal reported [4].

“Hunter was a rookie influence peddler and a troubled young man selling access to his dad,” Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., told Fox News Digital. “We have 6,000 jails. We could have found a place for Hunter.” [1]

By the Numbers

• 2: misdemeanor tax counts in the deal [1].
• 60%: share of referred false-statement gun cases that are prosecuted, per Lott [1].
• 46 months: Kodak Black’s sentence on gun charges, per his attorney [1].
• 5½ years: how long Biden said Hunter had been sober when he pardoned him [5].
• Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024: the period covered by the pardon [5].

What Happened Next

The deal fell apart. Biden himself later wrote that “a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room, with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process.” [5]

Then came the pardon. On Dec. 1, 2024, Biden granted his son “A Full and Unconditional Pardon” for offenses “during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024,” covering charges brought by Special Counsel David C. Weiss “(including any that have resulted in convictions).” [5]

“It is clear that Hunter was treated differently,” Biden said. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son, and that is wrong.” [5]

For the White House’s answers that week, see HYGO News’ page on the June 23, 2023, briefing, and for the special counsel, the page on Camp David.

Sources

1. Fox News: Americans guilty of charges similar to Hunter never got ‘sweetheart’ deal to keep them from prison: critics (June 25, 2023)
2. The American Presidency Project: Remarks at a Meeting With Business and Academic Leaders on Artificial Intelligence and an Exchange With Reporters in San Francisco, California (June 20, 2023)
3. The American Presidency Project: Pool Reports of June 20, 2023
4. The Daily Signal: Kevin McCarthy: Hunter Biden Deal ‘Enhances’ House Oversight Probe (June 20, 2023)
5. The American Presidency Project: Statement on the Presidential Pardon for R. Hunter Biden (December 1, 2024)