The 4 different ways Republicans are reacting to the Hunter Biden verdict

• Hunter Biden has been convicted of three gun crimes.

• Republicans seem divided on what to think.

• Some of them celebrate it, while others say it’s a trick. Some even seem to defend him.

Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday of three federal charges related to the purchase of a gun while using illegal drugs.

It is the first time that the child of a sitting American president has been convicted of a crime. And it comes less than two weeks after former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 crimes in New York.

One would expect Republicans to unanimously applaud the decision — to the extent it will affect the presidential election at all, it will likely hurt the president. Joe Biden more than it helps.

Yet that is not the way all Republicans respond.

That’s because much of the party has argued in recent years that the Biden administration is targeting former President Donald Trump, and the conviction of the president’s son complicates that idea.

“This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said after the verdict.

Plus, some Republicans like guns.

Here are the four different ways the GOP is responding to the conviction.

It is not enough

While Republicans who take this line don’t criticize the belief, they argue there is much more to it.

Republicans in Congress have long been investigating the Biden family, with the goal of eventually impeaching the president on charges of influence peddling and peddling related to his son’s business dealings — though that seems increasingly unlikely.

Some Republicans also point out that Hunter Biden initially had a plea deal with the federal government, but it fell apart.

It’s a sham or a smokescreen

More than a few Republicans argue that the conviction is some kind of smokescreen or ruse — either to cover up more serious crimes allegedly committed by the Biden family or to create the appearance of impartial justice.

“Hunter Biden just became the Deep State’s sacrificial lamb to demonstrate that justice is ‘balanced’ while the other Biden crimes remain ignored,” wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Similarly, Stephen Miller – a top adviser to Trump on immigration-related matters – argued that the conviction was an “easy option for DJ to sell to a lenient media.”

“This is all about protecting Joe Biden and only Joe Biden,” Miller wrote.

It’s justice

Some Republicans, believe it or not, are indeed pleased with the outcome.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said Hunter Biden’s actions had “given law-abiding gun owners who love the Second Amendment a bad name,” as he praised the conviction as the right decision.

Rep. Josh Brecheen, a freshman member of the House Freedom Caucus from Oklahoma, also celebrated the verdict.

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan – a Republican Senate candidate who got in trouble with Trumpworld for calling on people to respect the verdict in Trump’s case – simply said, “we must respect the legal process.”

It’s a travesty

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a strong-willed libertarian, is not a fan of the gun charges.

“There are millions of marijuana users who own guns in this country, and none of them should be in jail for purchasing or possessing a firearm in violation of current laws,” Massie said.

And top Trump ally Matt Gaetz of Florida said — without elaborating — that the conviction is “kind of stupid.”

Read the original article on Business Insider