Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said the "Big Guy has some explaining to do" after it was revealed that his son Hunter Biden had secured a tentative federal plea deal following an investigation that resulted in a felony gun charge and two tax misdemeanors.
During a town hall hosted by "Hannity" in South Carolina on Tuesday, the 2024 presidential hopeful laid into what he called a "weaponized" Justice Department, vowing to "fire" President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray if he is elected president.
GOP RIPS HUNTER'S ‘SWEETHEART’ PLEA DEAL ON TAX AND GUN CRIMES, ZERO IN ON JOE BIDEN
"We know Joe Biden bragged about leveraging a billion dollars to keep his son in Burisma holdings. Nothing happened to him. I worry if we don’t have equal justice, senator," Fox News' Sean Hannity said.
"It’s dangerous. We all know this, the ‘Big Guy’ has some explaining to do," Scott replied, referencing an FBI document alleging a criminal bribery scheme between Biden and a foreign national who seemingly referred to the then-vice president as "the Big Guy."
"With your help, we are going to fire Joe Biden and then we are going to fire Merrick Garland and fire Christopher Wray," Scott continued. "And we are going to restore confidence, integrity in our Department of Justice. We can't have them going after the pro-life activists with a SWAT team. You cannot call parents who show up at a school board meeting domestic terrorists. And you cannot, it is unacceptable and un-American to weaponize the Department of Justice against your political opponents. It is just wrong," he said.
Scott made the comment after it was revealed that Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two tax violations and one gun felony in what Republicans are blasting as a "sweetheart" plea deal following a five-year investigation. The first son has been under federal investigation since 2018, which began amid the discovery of suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations." The firearms charge stemmed from allegations that Hunter Biden lied during a gun purchase in 2018.
HUNTER BIDEN AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY IN FEDERAL TAX, GUN CASE
Republicans have accused Hunter of selling President Biden’s influence overseas during his vice presidency. The news of the charges against Hunter come one week after Former President Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential front-runner, was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to 37 federal felony charges in a classified records case.
In a statement to Fox News earlier Tuesday, Scott said the plea deal lets the Biden family off with nothing more than a "slap on the wrist with kid gloves" while the "DOJ throws the kitchen sink at [Biden's] political opponents."
Scott told Hannity that as president, he would "finish" the investigation into the Biden family's business dealings, which has been overseen by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., along with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.
"We all have to be treated equally under the eyes and the laws of our country. And when the Bidens get away with that, we need to thank God for Senator Grassley and Congressman Comer for doing their jobs," Scott said. " But I can tell you if they cannot finish their investigation, President Tim Scott will finish it."
Scott continued to lay into what he described as a two-tiered system of justice.
"We cannot be the city on the hill if we are not first a nation of law and justice. We can't be the city on the hill. We cannot fulfill our destiny as America if we do not have the lady of justice wearing a blindfold," he said, prompting loud applause from the audience.
Hunter will plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax. The younger Biden also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Without a plea agreement, Hunter would face a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison on each of the two tax charges, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the firearm charge, U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss' office said. The deal still has to be approved by a judge.
Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
