The 4 Different Ways Republicans Are Reacting to the Hunter Biden Verdict

• Hunter Biden was convicted of three felony gun charges.

• Republicans appear divided on what to make of this.

• Some of them are celebrating, while others say it’s a ruse. Some even seem to defend it.

Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday on three federal charges related to him purchasing a gun while using illegal drugs.

It is the first time that the son of a sitting US president was convicted of a crime. And this comes less than two weeks after former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 criminal charges In New York.

One would expect Republicans to unanimously applaud the decision – to the extent that it will affect the presidential election, it is likely to hurt the president. Joe Biden more than helps.

However, this is not how all Republicans are reacting.

That’s because much of the party has argued in recent years that the Biden administration is targeting former President Donald Trump, and the conviction of the president’s son complicates that idea.

“This trial was nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden crime family,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said after the verdict.

Also, some Republicans like guns.

Here are four different ways the Republican Party is responding to the conviction.

It is not enough

While Republicans who follow this line don’t criticize the conviction, they argue that there is much more out there.

Congressional Republicans have long been investigating the Biden family, with the aim of eventually indicting the president on charges of influence peddling related to his son’s business dealings – although it appears increasingly unlikely.

Some Republicans also point out that Hunter Biden initially had a plea deal with the federal government, just so that it collapse.

Is it a hoax or a smokescreen

Several Republicans argue that the conviction is a kind of smokescreen or ruse – either to cover up more serious crimes allegedly committed by the Biden family, or to create the appearance of impartial justice.

“Hunter Biden just became the Deep State’s sacrificial lamb to show that justice is ‘balanced’ while Biden’s other crimes remain ignored,” wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Similarly, Stephen Miller – one of Trump’s top advisers on immigration issues – argued that conviction constituted an “easy option for DJ to sell to a flexible media”.

“This is about protecting Joe Biden and only Joe Biden,” Miller wrote.

It’s justice served

Some Republicans, believe it or not, are actually satisfied with the result.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said Hunter Biden’s actions gave “law-abiding, Second Amendment-loving gun owners” a bad name while praising the conviction as the right decision.

Representative Josh Brecheen, a freshman member of the House Freedom Caucus of Oklahoma, also celebrated the verdict.

Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan — a GOP Senate candidate who got into trouble with Trumpworld for urging people to respect the verdict in the Trump case — said simply “we must respect the legal process.”

It’s a scam

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an idiosyncratic libertarian, is no fan of gun charges.

“There are millions of marijuana users who own guns in this country, and none of them should be in prison for purchasing or possessing a firearm against current laws,” Massie said.

And Trump’s top ally, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida — without elaborating — said the conviction is “kind of stupid.”

Read the original article at Business Insider