Mike Johnson Tries Saving GOP’s Biggest Lie on Hunter Biden and Trump

It seems that nothing, not even a guilty verdict for Hunter Biden, can convince right-wing conspiracy theorists like House Speaker Mike Johnson that the Department of Justice is not under the direct control of the Democratic president.

CNN’s Manu Raju spoke to Johnson shortly after the ruling on Tuesday, and asked him whether he felt Biden’s guilty verdict undermined the GOP narrative that Democrats have implemented a “two-tiered” justice system to target Donald Trump.

“It doesn’t, every case is different, and clearly the evidence is overwhelming here,” Johnson said. “I don’t think that’s the case in the Trump trial, and all the charges that have been brought against him have been obviously brought for political purposes. Hunter Biden is a separate instance.”

Ever since Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts in his hush-money trial, the former president’s allies in the far-right GOP have claimed louder than ever that the Department of Justice is a politically motivated weapon of the Biden administration. One might think this notion would be challenged by Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict, but that person would also have to imagine that these Republicans operate on a baseline of logic or reason. No such luck.

The Republican response to Biden’s conviction is unsurprising, since the cast of disgruntled lawmakers hasn’t been convinced by any other evidence that challenges their worldview. Last month, the Department of Justice released an indictment against Texas Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife, charging them with bribery and money laundering. On Monday, a witness in the case against Bob Menendez testified that the New Jersey senator agreed to intervene in two criminal investigations, in exchange for a Mercedes. Both Democrats. Both pursued by the Justice Department.

The reality that Johnson would have the public ignore is that the evidence was overwhelming in Trump’s case too. That’s precisely how a unanimous jury found him guilty of all charges.

In terms of Biden’s case not being “politically motivated,” it’s worth noting that the case brought against him is considered relatively rare among gun prosecutions, with even Fox News commentator Trey Gowdy suggesting he might be subject to political persecution. None of this can penetrate the victim complex of the Republican front-runner, however, or his cronies like Johnson.

As conservatives sort out their preferred conspiratorial reactions to Hunter Biden’s felony conviction on Tuesday, Marjorie Taylor Greene has helpfully come along to merge two competing conspiracies together.

Conservatives initially reacted to Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict by largely choosing one of two conspiracies: that Biden’s conviction is an offering from the Department of Justice to weaken outrage over Trump’s conviction, or that Biden’s gun conviction is simply smoke and mirrors to distract from the (very false) allegation that Joe Biden took a bribe to coerce the Ukrainian government away from investigating a gas company whose board Hunter Biden sat on.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has opted to blend these two together, posting well after the initial surge of hot takes that Hunter Biden is “the Deep State’s sacrificial lamb.”

It will likely never occur to those circulating these conspiracies that Trump’s conviction in the hush-money trial came from a city-level investigation unaffiliated with the Justice Department, which began more than a year before Biden announced his bid for president. Nor will it become apparent that Hunter Biden’s charges and conviction are relatively routine and that the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy to which conservatives clutch so tightly was found to have been totally made up by a former FBI informant with reported ties to Russian intelligence.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has pushed Republican leadership to their wits’ end.

After she remained loyal to Representative Kevin McCarthy during his nine-month tenure as speaker of the House, her disruptive, attention-seeking actions and outbursts under Speaker Mike Johnson have led to some of her Republican colleagues calling for her to face consequences, according to a new CNN report.

“This is supposed to be a collaborative body, at least within your own conference, and she doesn’t play nice in the sandbox,” Republican Representative Carlos Giménez told CNN.

“She is not part of any group,” another unnamed Republican lawmaker said. “She’s kind of an island unto herself.”

“(McCarthy) kept her in Bubble Wrap,” said yet another anonymous Republican lawmaker.

In the past two weeks, Greene has continued to push for a long-shot impeachment vote against President Joe Biden and has also called for Johnson to push for a government shutdown instead of funding the Department of Justice, both of which are opposed by much of the Republican caucus. Prior to that, Greene led a failed effort to oust Johnson over aid for Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion.

Greene derailed the House Oversight Committee in May, when she insulted Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett’s appearance in a hearing about holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, which many Republicans were pushing for. When Democrats asked her to apologize, she adamantly refused.

“There’s no f**king way I’m doing that. I won’t apologize. And I’m not leaving,” Greene said to committee Chair James Comer, a fellow Republican, she told CNN. “I don’t care what happens in this committee room—I will not leave.”

Greene has already been kicked out of the far-right House Freedom Caucus for feuding with other members and is campaigning against its head, Representative Bob Good. She has a long-standing beef with fellow far-right Representative Lauren Boebert and recently called the Republican Party “feckless and useless,” saying its members “have their head up their ass.”

Still, House Republicans fear the Georgia representative, according to CNN.

“They are over her, but they still fear her, because she has an incredible audience and fundraising mechanism and could turn that against you,” one GOP lawmaker said.

Representative Nancy Mace appears to have been double-dipping in her Washington, D.C., housing scam.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the South Carolina Republican’s use of a congressional reimbursement program after former staffers accused Mace of “secretly fleecing taxpayers” to the tune of $12,000.

Mace had, on several occasions, requested reimbursements of more than $3,000 at a time to cover costs associated with her $1.6 million townhouse—nearly double what her team had calculated she was eligible for.

But all the while, that property was simultaneously being leased out as a short-term rental on VRBO, an online vacation rental marketplace, according to pictures obtained by the Daily Mail.

The listing describes the large redbrick home as having three bedrooms (one king, one queen, and one room with two twin beds) and being good for events with 10 to 24 guests, noting that it is “perfectly situated a block from the Capitol. Perfect for short events where proximity to the capitol is ideal.” Pictures of the entry depict the house with two flags hanging to the sides of the front door: an American flag and the flag of South Carolina. The ad also lists the property owner as “Ruth M.” Ruth is Mace’s middle name.

“Representative Mace has violated House Ethics Rules by repeatedly seeking reimbursement for lodging in excess of the actual monthly expense of maintaining her co-owned townhouse in  Washington, D.C., resulting in a misuse of taxpayer funds for purposes unrelated to her official duties,” read an ethics complaint filed against the congresswoman last week.

Mace’s requests plainly violated two key rules of a congressional reimbursement program, according to the complaint: Lawmakers cannot be repaid for interest or principal on their mortgage payments, and they cannot ask to be repaid for more than their actual expenses.

Mace has repeatedly blamed her staff for her inaccurate financial reports—but that’s just one jagged element of working for the South Carolinian, whom former employees have described as fostering a “toxic” work environment. By February, every member of Mace’s staff had turned over since November 1, 2023, including deputy chief of staff Richard Chalkey, legislative director Randal Meyer, communications director Will Hampson, a financial adviser, a staff assistant, two legislative assistants, and her military legislative assistant. In fact, her former chief of staff is running against her in the South Carolina Republican primary.

For Republicans who oppose putting restrictions on purchasing firearms, resisting the urge to  cheerlead Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict in his gun trial might present a real-head scratcher. Just look at Representative Thomas Massie.

“Hunter might deserve to be in jail for something, but purchasing a gun is not it,” Massie wrote on X. “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 against current laws.”

The Kentucky Republican’s position, as confusing as it may appear, should come as no surprise. Between 2012 and 2023, political action committees for gun rights gave $42,500 to Massie, according to the Lexington Herald Leader. 

In 2021, Massie posted an image of his family’s Christmas card photo, which showed each member of his family holding a firearm. In total, the seven guns were estimated to cost between $20,000 to $190,000, according to Forbes. 

“Merry Christmas,” Massie captioned the picture. “P.S. Santa, please bring ammo.” 

Massie’s mind-bending statement also drove in another Republican trope: an insistence that the Biden family is guilty, but of what crime, they’re not quite sure.