It was just last week when Sen. Ron Johnson argued that the process in the Hunter Biden trial appeared tilted in the defendant’s favor. As far as the Wisconsin Republican was concerned, prosecutors didn’t really want to file the charges, and it was unlikely that Americans would see “fair and impartial justice.” Johnson predicted that a conviction seemed improbable.
The far-right senator, of course, is usually wrong, and this case was no exception. My MSNBC colleague Jordan Rubin explained this morning:
Hunter Biden was found guilty on all three counts in his federal gun trial in Delaware. … Biden was charged with lying on paperwork related to his 2018 purchase of a firearm and his possession of it as a drug user or addict.
Soon after the verdict was announced, President Joe Biden issued a written statement that read, “As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery.
“As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal. Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that.”
Note, at no point did the incumbent president lash out at the judge or prosecutors. He did not peddle any conspiracy theories about the case, the jurors, or the verdict. He did not claim to be a victim. He did not condemn the United States’ judicial system or urge Americans not to trust the process.
Joe Biden also did not tell supporters, “They’re not after my son; they’re after you, and my son is simply in the way.”
Instead, the Democrat — who also chose in 2021 to allow Trump-appointed prosecutor David Weiss to continue with the case, even after Trump lost — accepted the verdict while expressing support for his son and the legal process, behaving the way a patriot should.
Imagine that.
I will confess that I did not follow the prosecution of this case closely because Hunter Biden is a private citizen removed from the political arena. That said, it’s always heartening to see evidence that in the United States, the rule of law applies to everyone — even if you’re the son of the sitting president.
What’s more, it’s also worth pausing to appreciate the larger pattern that’s unfolded in recent months. The Justice Department, under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland, is:
- successfully prosecuting President Joe Biden’s son;
- prosecuting an incumbent Democratic senator, New Jersey’s Bob Menendez, during his re-election bid;
- prosecuting an incumbent Democratic congressman, Texas’ Cuellar, during his re-election bid;
- investigating an incumbent Democratic congresswoman, Missouri’s Cori Bush, during her re-election bid.
For good measure, it’s probably worth mentioning that the Justice Department also appears to be investigating Eric Adams, the high-profile Democratic mayor of New York City.
A neutral political observer might see this and be tempted to conclude that Biden’s Justice Department is unfairly targeting Democrats. And yet, one of the animating concepts in contemporary Republican politics is that rascally Democrats have “weaponized” federal law enforcement to punish GOP figures and shield Democrats from accountability. The Justice Department and the FBI, leading Republican voices insist, are little more than political tools for the Biden White House and its fiendish allies. As we’ve discussed, Republicans don’t just want their conspiracy theory to be true; they need it to be true. This simple, ridiculous idea is at the center of the party’s Trump defense, fundraising, stump speeches, cable news segments, and even legislative campaigns on Capitol Hill. In 2024, assertions about a “two-tiered” justice system are foundational to Republican politics. They’re also routinely discredited by real-world events. Indeed, if Biden and his team were trying to weaponize federal law enforcement to benefit Democrats, they’ve proved themselves to be incredibly bad at it. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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