House Republicans cheer ‘big win for the rule of law’ after Hunter Biden's 'sweetheart' deal collapses

House Republicans celebrated with cautious optimism Wednesday after Hunter Biden’s plea deal fell apart, saying it "collapsed under the weight of its own blatant corruption."

Biden's plea deal fell through during his first appearance in a federal court in Delaware, leading to him pleading "not guilty" as prosecutors confirmed the president's son is still under investigation. 

He was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge. 

Now, jail time may be back on the table.

A courtroom sketch depicting Hunter Biden in a federal courtroom in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 26, 2023. (COURTESY: William J. Hennessy, Jr.)

A courtroom sketch depicting Hunter Biden in a federal courtroom in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 26, 2023. (COURTESY: William J. Hennessy, Jr.)

BIDEN'S NARRATIVE ON NEVER DISCUSSING BUSINESS DEALS WITH HUNTER CONTINUE TO CRUMBLE

Republicans investigating Biden on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees told Fox News Digital that the court dealt a major blow to the Biden family.

"Today’s development that Hunter Biden’s sweetheart deal has now turned sour is welcome news to every American – it collapsed under the weight of its own blatant corruption," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.

"The two-tiered system of justice that has metastasized under the Biden administration just received a swift kick in the ribs," she said. "Nobody is exempt from following the law in this country, especially those with the last name of Biden." 

Representative Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 29, 2022. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"The sweetheart deal originally presented to Hunter Biden was a slap in the face to Lady Justice," said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. "It exposed the two-tier justice system allowed to those deemed above the law because of their last name or socioeconomic status."

"This status quo is un-American, and the rejection of this plea deal is a big win for the rule of law and opens the door for real accountability for the president's lawless son," he continued. "I am proud of the work my House GOP colleagues and I have done to uncover the corruption of this family, and I look forward to real accountability soon."

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., gives remarks at Moms for Liberty's Joyful Warriors National Summit in Philadelphia on June 30, 2023. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

"The ongoing investigation into Hunter’s FARA violations is just another clue that his business dealings don’t pass the smell test," added Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas. "This is even more concerning in light of recent evidence that Joe Biden spoke with Hunter’s associates on multiple occasions. Combined with the whistleblowers, bank records and the FD-1023 form, the evidence continues to reveal more about the full extent of the Bidens’ influence peddling scheme."

HUNTER BIDEN'SS BUSINESS PARTNER DEVON ARCHER IN ‘HIDING’ AHEAD OF BOMBSHELL TESTIMONY: REPORT

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital in an interview that Biden gets two more chances, pretrial and during trial, to reach a plea bargain that could be more stringent than the first.

"That could be something that's going on behind the scenes of the DOJ, saying, ‘Oh, what is it we could work out with Hunter that, in fact, we get this judge to go away?’ Because, there's very little likelihood that Hunter Biden would win this case," Issa said. "So now the question is, what is he willing to plead to that would be less than what he might be sentenced to if he loses? And so I fully expect that some of that is going on behind the scenes as we speak, trying to figure out what the judge would accept."

Representative Darrell Issa, Republican from California, during a House Judiciary Committee field hearing in New York. (Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Issa said he initially cheered the Delaware judge’s decision but is skeptical that the DOJ is going to suddenly prosecute Biden aggressively.

"My thought initially was, ‘Great. We have a judge that’s willing to do the right thing.’ But how are we going to get DOJ do the right thing?" he asked. "Remember, the Biden DOJ is the one that gave him a sweetheart deal and now you're expecting them to prosecute aggressively? I doubt that they will."

"They do not prosecute the president, they don't want to prosecute the president’s son, and they certainly don't want to follow the leads that seem to lead from the president's son to the president," he continued.

"I’d love to ask for a change of prosecutors to ones that would actually prosecute, but I suspect that's not possible," Issa added. "So one of the truisms that we expect right now is to have a comparatively lackluster prosecution by those who were perfectly willing to give him a sweetheart deal."

Jessica Chasmar is a digital writer on the politics team for Fox News and Fox Business. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..