WASHINGTON — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has an A-rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), but when it comes to Hunter Biden's gun crimes, she wants to see a harsher sentence.
"You know, I just think — I think, I haven't looked at it that closely to be honest with you, but it seems like a slap on the wrist, but, you know, he's obviously got a lot of problems," Capito told Raw Story at the Capitol on Wednesday. "I don't really have a comment on it."
When Raw Story pressed further about her work on the background check system, Capito emphasized that Hunter Biden "lied" on the form. "That's illegal, and he's gonna pay for it. He should. He probably should pay more deeply for it. But I don't know if it's a negotiated settlement. It seems too mild for the standards that have been set."
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) complained on Tuesday that the younger Biden deserved 10 years in prison, which is the maximum sentence for the crime. Biden was able to enter a pretrial diversion agreement, which means he won't be prosecuted.
Biden had claimed on a form needed to buy a gun that he was not using drugs at the time, and later wrote a book in which he confessed he was on drugs.
The plea deal made with Donald Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss states that Biden must remain clean for the next two years. If he does not, then the Justice Department will return and prosecute him on the gun charge.
Former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann pointed out on Tuesday evening that, "MAGA Republicans are not in favor of enforcing gun laws, except now with respect to Hunter Biden. Lying on a 4473 form (required to buy certain guns) about your drug addiction was simply not routinely enforced."
The crime is not often prosecuted as it's tough to prove without requiring that gun applicants submit to a drug test before purchasing a weapon. While the NRA is in favor of restrictions on drug users, forcing all gun applicants to submit to a drug test isn't something it has supported in the past.
Neither the NRA nor the Republican Party has said explicitly if they would support mandatory drug testing for all gun applicants.