House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday railed against the Justice Department in response to federal prosecutors’ plea deal with Hunter Biden on tax evasion on gun charges.
After a five-year federal investigation, the agreement has the younger Biden pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and admitting to unlawful possession of a firearm, likely avoiding prison.
“Well, I’m just wondering how he’s pleading guilty to two tax misdemeanors where he got millions of dollars from foreign entities, and I don’t know what was paid,” Mr. McCarthy said.
The House Oversight Committee is investigating the allegations of an FBI informant of a $10 million bribery scheme involving Hunter Biden and his father, President Biden, when the elder Mr. Biden was vice president in the Obama administration.
“But the way they got paid, it came through one shell company to another shell company that paid others in the family, and then they never paid their taxes,” Mr. McCarthy said. “And how he dealt with a firearm? Is this the same way other Americans get treated?”
According to a letter filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware on Tuesday, the president’s son will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses and is expected to reach an agreement with prosecutors on the charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user.
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, said in a court notice that Mr. Biden would admit to the gun charge and enter a Pretrial Diversion Agreement which is an alternative to the judicial system that potentially avoids a criminal record.
Hunter Biden will not be prosecuted for the gun charge if he honors the terms of the agreement, such as staying off drugs.
The firearm charge stems from Hunter Biden making false statements when purchasing a handgun.
All applicants purchasing legal firearms must fill out a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives form known as a 4473. It requires buyers to answer several questions about the buyer’s competency, criminal history, drug use, immigration status and history of domestic violence.
“Applicants who knowingly make false statements may also face criminal prosecution for a felony and up to 10 years in federal prison,” the ATF states on its website.
On Jan. 10, the Justice Department stated that federal prosecutors were “aggressively pursuing those who lie in connection with firearm transactions.”
For instance, federal prosecutors convicted 22-year-old Brion Martai Odell Hamilton of Oklahoma City last October of making false statements on the ATF Form 4473. He now faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty on May 25, 2022. He was convicted of carrying a firearm under the influence of marijuana in Oklahoma County.
Thereafter, according to the Justice Department, Hamilton lied on the ATF Form 4473 regarding his eligibility to purchase firearms and attempted to purchase guns on four separate occasions after the ATF informed him that he was prohibited from doing so.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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