Matt Gaetz calls Hunter Biden gun conviction ‘kinda dumb’

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called Hunter Biden’s conviction on federal gun charges “kinda dumb” in a post on the social platform X, minutes after the verdict was announced.

Hunter Biden — the second-oldest son of President Biden — was convicted Tuesday afternoon on three federal gun charges. The felony charges alleged President Biden’s son lied about his sobriety when obtaining a gun in 2018, and illegally possessed the gun for 11 days.

Hunter Biden’s verdict comes just two weeks after former President Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial. Gaetz called the former president’s conviction “the corrupt result of a corrupt trial, a corrupt judge, and a corrupt DA,” in a statement issued immediately following the verdict.

Gaetz’s comment comes as Trump’s campaign dismissed the conviction as “a distraction” from more serious allegations.

“The trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine,” Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said in a campaign email sent Tuesday.

President Biden told ABC News on Thursday he would not pardon his son if convicted. He stood by his son, but maintained he would “respect the judicial process” in a statement to the public issued within an hour of Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict.

“I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” President Biden wrote. “I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”  

Hunter Biden faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.