OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A video of first son Hunter Biden surfaced on Friday of him attending a White House event a day after another major scandal broke involving him and his father, President Joe Biden, as well as news of a plea bargain with federal prosecutors.
Earlier in the week, reports noted that Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to a pair of misdemeanor tax avoidance charges while adding that he most likely will also not serve any prison time for a felony gun charge.
The first son was charged with failing to pay any taxes on around $1.5 million in income for two straight years. He was also accused of lying on a federal gun background check form about his past drug use and addiction in order to purchase a handgun.
Republicans and other critics of the first family were outraged at the “sweetheart” plea deal, with many saying it was yet another example of how the country’s justice system has become politicized and two-tiered.
Following his plea bargain, a Republican lawmaker released testimony from two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers who said that Hunter Biden once invoked his father when he threatened a Chinese business partner for payment.
During a press conference addressing the allegations of the Biden administration interfering with U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s investigation into the president’s son, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) made the revelation following a hearing earlier in the day.
One of the IRS agents told Smith’s committee that in August 2020, agency investigators found messages from an iCloud search warrant, but prosecutors “denied investigators’ requests to develop a strategy to look into the messages and denied investigators’ suggestion to obtain location information to see where the texts were sent from.”
One message investigators managed to obtain was sent via the WhatsApp platform from Hunter Biden to Henry Zhao on July 30, 2017.
Smith’s committee provided a transcript of the exchange where it appears Hunter Biden name-dropped his father, Joe Biden:
I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.
According to author Peter Schweizer, Henry Zhao is a Chinese Communist Party official and previously was a business partner with the daughter of China’s former state security minister.
But none of the scandals seemed to matter to the White House or the president. Video of Hunter Biden attending a state dinner held for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and rubbing elbowed with the tuxedoed guests further outraged Biden family critics.
No dignity nothing
— Life as it goesTM (@lifeasitgoes12) June 23, 2023
“No dignity, nothing,” one Twitter user said in response to the video.
Interestingly, reports noted that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who would have to sign off on any plea deal, was also in attendance. Earlier in the day, he swatted away accusations of a politicized DOJ and accused critics of ‘attacking democracy.’
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) responded by demanding that Garland provide some rationale for the kid glove treatment of the first son.
“Americans are serving prison time for doing exactly what Hunter Biden did. Biden’s DOJ needs to explain how Hunter Biden’s case is any different. Americans are quickly losing trust in our justice system,” he tweeted on Thursday.
