Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Hunter Biden Plea Deal Pumps Up Republican Paranoia

The reaction to his tax and gun case is a continuation of the demonization of the FBI and Justice Department that has become the party's standard rhetoric.

June 22, 2023 at 11:30 AM UTC

By Jonathan Bernstein

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, has been critical of the plea deal Hunter Biden received. — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, has been critical of the plea deal Hunter Biden received.
Photographer: Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg

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Republican reaction to Hunter Biden’s plea deal on tax and gun charges demonstrates the paranoia that has gripped many in the party. GOP leaders seem convinced of what US Representative Elise Stefanik called the “politicization and weaponization of Joe Biden’s Department of Justice.”

Nor is it just about President Biden and his team. Republicans have taken to complaining that the FBI and career bureaucrats in the Justice Department are biased against them. It’s not that they would do anything differently if they were in power. As several analysts have noted, Republicans argue that there is no such thing as objective justice. Former President Donald Trump promises to “lock up” his political enemies, not restore neutrality.