Attorney General Merrick Garland said that there was no favoritism in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) approach toward a reported plea deal for the president’s son on tax and firearms charges. Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to several misdemeanor counts, which will likely allow him to stay out of prison.
A reporter at an event in Stockholm, Sweden said that “some Republicans say that he’s being treated more leniently than he should have and compare and contrast the case to former President Trump, who has been criminally indicted. Do these cases reflect a different standard of justice depending on political leanings?”
Garland responded that upon becoming attorney general in 2021, he promised to “leave this matter in the hands of the U.S. attorney, who was appointed by the previous president and assigned to this matter by the previous administration, that he would be given full authority to decide the matter as he decided was appropriate. And that’s what he’s done.”
The attorney general also said that if the reporter had “any further questions about that matter,” to ask U.S. Attorney David Weiss.
Weiss said this week that the investigation into the president’s son was “ongoing.”
The U.S. attorney had the decision regarding whether or not to charge the younger Biden.
Ted Cruz says Merrick Garland indicted Hunter Biden to 'cover up' vendetta against Trump https://t.co/E5opBuH6mq
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 22, 2023
Garland’s comments come as the younger Biden is the focus of a wider congressional investigation. Members of the House Oversight Committee have probed a number of payments to members of the Biden family from foreign sources, with Hunter Biden as a major focus.
The president’s son allegedly received millions from a number of foreign businesses, including those from China, Romania and Ukraine. Hunter Biden served on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma during his father’s tenure as vice president.
The Biden family also allegedly received a $1 million payment from a Romanian businessman under investigation for corruption.
In particular, congressional Republicans have stepped up an investigation into allegations that Hunter and Joe Biden each received a $5 million bribe from a Burisma executive.
