Republican lawmakers are warning President Biden not to pardon his son after Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges on Thursday, arguing his innocence.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) told Fox News Digital that he believes the plea deal “completely” vindicates the allegations and findings that Republican lawmakers have made against the president's family since before Biden took office.
“This is also an acquittal for the whistleblowers,” he added, accusing Hunter's defenders of “trying to ruin their careers.”
Regarding the possibility of Biden pardoning his son, Davidson said, “I think it would be an abuse of power for a president to do that, but I think a lot of people would be surprised if Joe Biden didn't do it.”
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House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) (left) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) (right) led Republicans in defending Hunter Biden's guilty plea. (Getty Images)
The White House has said multiple times that the president will not pardon his son, but that hasn't stopped a flurry of Republican-led skepticism.
This comes in the wake of a bombshell report from House Republicans that drew pushback from the White House, accusing the president of committing “impeachable offenses” by enriching himself and his family through foreign deals.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Missouri), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of the three committees investigating Biden through the impeachment inquiry, similarly said the guilty plea supported the whistleblower's testimony that came before the committee.
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“Hunter Biden's decision to plead guilty is yet another vindication of the sincerity of the IRS whistleblowers who recommended these very charges more than two years ago before being blocked by the Biden-Harris Justice Department. Hunter Biden would have received a sweet plea deal on just two misdemeanor counts if Joseph Ziegler and Gary Shapley had not come forward and put their reputations and careers at great risk in the process,” Smith told Fox News Digital.
In an implicit warning, Smith added, “It remains to be seen whether President Biden will abuse the power of his office to ensure his son does not face consequences for his felony tax evasion crimes.”
A courtroom sketch shows Hunter Biden appearing in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday. (Bill Robles)
“Hunter Biden has finally admitted the obvious: he didn't pay taxes on the money he made from selling access to his father, Joe Biden,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee and co-chair of the investigation.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), a member of the committee, told Fox News Digital, “Hunter Biden's plea deal should not distract from the fact that he was a key player in the Biden family influence scheme that made him approximately $27 million by selling political access to 'big shot' Joe Biden.”
“For over a decade, Hunter and his associates have enriched themselves at the expense of the American people. Hunter must be held accountable, but this is not the end of the road when it comes to equal justice under the law,” Fallon said.
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Biden and his allies have consistently denied the accusations made by House Republicans, dismissing them as misrepresentations and political attacks.
But Republicans like Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, who warned Biden not to pardon his son, aren't convinced.
House Republicans have been investigating President Biden for years. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“Hunter Biden's bait-and-switch scheme is a clear attempt to avoid a messy trial that would expose his father's role in his family's corrupt business dealings. With President Biden likely to pardon his son when he leaves the Oval Office, Americans will once again witness Biden family wrongdoing go unpunished,” Biggs said.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday, hours before Hunter Biden pleaded guilty, that “no,” he would not receive a presidential pardon from his father.
When asked in June whether he would pardon his son, Biden himself said he would “agree with the jury's decision.”
