The guilty verdict in the Hunter Biden gun trial undercuts, at least for some, the MAGA narrative that the justice system is “rigged.” Throughout former President Donald Trump‘s criminal trial in Manhattan, the presumptive GOP nominee repeatedly blamed his political opponent, President Joe Biden, for “weaponizing” the Department of Justice against him.
(NOTE: The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which pursued the indictment, is a separate entity from the DOJ. The DOJ does not supervise or have a say in the DA’s work. A jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts.)
Trump, who aggressively attacked Hunter Biden during his 2020 campaign, is now calling the Hunter Biden verdict “a distraction.”
MAGA loyalist, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) responded to the Biden verdict by writing: “Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal was smoked out after scrutiny by a federal judge. Today’s verdict is a step toward accountability but until the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ corrupt influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden family, it will be clear department officials continue to cover for the Big Guy, Joe Biden.”
Please have more hearings. https://t.co/SSMVWOSqWb
— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) June 11, 2024
Comer has been criticized even by MAGA supporters including Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon for carrying out an investigation into the Biden family which has gone on for more than a year — without producing evidence or advancing in an actionable way. (Bannon on Comer in June of 2023: “You have to be prepared. You are not serious. It’s all performative.”)
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a known antagonist of Comer’s during House Oversight Committee investigations, responded to Comer’s post with sarcasm: “Please have more hearings,” with a hands in prayer emoji.