As GOP lawmakers rail against Donald Trump's conviction, they're not talking about Hunter Biden's trial
After a year and a half of talking about Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings and struggle with drug addiction, Republicans on Capitol Hill have been nearly silent about him since his felony gun trial started Monday.
Former President Donald Trump and his campaign have been similarly quiet as the president's son sits in a Delaware courtroom this week.
In 2023 and the early part of 2024, House Republicans carried on a broad investigation into Hunter Biden's foreign business ties as part of ongoing efforts to impeach his father. Republicans accuse President Joe Biden of benefiting financially from his son's dealings, but congressional investigators have failed to come up with evidence directly tying now-President Joe Biden to his family’s affairs. The impeachment effort has stalled.
But some Republicans told USA TODAY it's no mystery why they haven't addressed the president's son's trial: They're still focused on Trump's historic conviction last week in his New York hush money case.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told USA TODAY that Trump's 34-count felony conviction on Thursday has angered their base, and they're concentrated on how GOP voters are feeling in the unprecedented moment. Hunter Biden also faces a second tax-related trial later this year.
Lummis said she thinks Republicans will "largely stay away" from campaigning on or otherwise highlighting the Hunter Biden trial.
"Republicans and independents are so angry about the miscarriage of justice that occurred when former President Donald Trump was found guilty," she said. "That's what motivating and energizing Republicans and independents. So, changing the subject from what has them riled up to something about Hunter Biden – nope, doesn't matter, it's immaterial."
When USA TODAY asked other Republicans about Hunter Biden's trial, several also reflected instead on the fairness of Trump's conviction. Republicans have largely echoed the expected 2024 GOP presidential nominee's claims that the case was politically motivated and biased.
There is no evidence that prosecutors or other officials are targeting Trump's reelection bid as he faces four sets of criminal charges.
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, told USA TODAY he thinks "it's more likely that (Hunter Biden will) be protected" since "that's just the way I see the justice system right now."
Even though U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the special counsel on Hunter Biden's case, was appointed by Trump, Crane argued there's not "the same type of partisanship on our side."
Half of Americans say they believe Hunter Biden received favorable treatment from prosecutors because he is the president's son, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll last summer. The poll found Republicans (75%) were much more likely to report that than independents (42%) or Democrats (33%).
But Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., another member of the Freedom Caucus, noted that the judge overseeing the case, Maryellen Noreika, was also appointed by Trump.
"It will be fair," Norman said of Hunter Biden's trial. However, he claimed the judge and prosecutors in Trump's case "hated" Trump, alleging without evidence that the conviction was already "cooked."
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, another conservative hardliner, said he doesn't anticipate Republicans focusing on Hunter Biden's trial in the coming weeks, telling USA TODAY he sees Trump and Hunter Biden as "totally different."
"Hunter Biden isn't being targeted for a gun crime prosecution because he's Hunter Biden. Normal people would be prosecuted for this," Davidson said. "In this case, you're just following the normal pattern of law by holding Hunter Biden to the same standard as everyone else."
However, the charges against Hunter Biden are unusual. Federal prosecutors rarely only charge people for lying about their addiction when purchasing a gun. The charge is commonly used to enhance a lower level charge to a felony.
Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Normally a misdemeanor charge, New York law allows it to be enhanced to a felony if the records were falsified to hide an underlying crime.
John Feehery, a Republican strategist who worked for several House Republican leaders, said there are no ties between Joe Biden and the Delaware case that warrant members of Congress discussing it in public. After all, Hunter Biden isn't facing off against the former president in the fall general election.
"I don't think there's a lot of reason for Republicans to involve themselves in this trial," he said.
Some House members have previously spent time in hearings talking about Hunter Biden's drug use, even showing blown up images of him naked in the televised meetings. Hunter Biden accused them of weaponizing his addiction to hurt his father. Donald Trump has also publicly criticized Hunter Biden, long asking “Where’s Hunter?” at campaign rallies and other events.
Feehery argued that the public isn't necessarily voting with Hunter Biden in mind. A majority polled last summer said Hunter Biden's charges will not affect their support for his father in 2024.
"The other thing that's clear is voters don't care. They kind of went down that route and it doesn't seem like it really hurt Biden that much," Feehery said.
Contributing: Rachel Barber, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP lawmakers focus on Donald Trump conviction, not Hunter Biden trial