In response to the news Tuesday that Hunter Biden had pleaded guilty to tax violations and a gun crime, both President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden expressed their continued love and support for their son, USA Today reported.

"The president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life," a White House spokesman said in a statement following the announcement of the guilty plea. "We will have no further comment."

Later that day, while President Biden was at an event in California, he was peppered with questions from several reporters about Hunter's guilty plea but essentially ignored them all and simply stated, "I’m very proud of my son."

The charges and the plea deal

According to a Tuesday press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Delaware, Hunter Biden had agreed to plead guilty to a pair of misdemeanor tax law violations as well as enter into a pre-trial diversion agreement on a drug-related felony gun possession charge.

The tax violations, failure to pay income taxes in 2017 and 2018, would typically result in up to a year in prison for each count plus a fine, while the gun charge, unlawful possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance, can result in up to 10 years in prison plus a hefty fine.

However, NBC News reported that Biden will likely only receive probation for the tax violations and, due to the pre-trial diversion agreement, will avoid any jail time whatsoever for the gun charge so long as he abides by whatever conditions were included in the agreement or set by a sentencing judge.

Biden's attorney, Chris Clark, said in a statement, "With the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved."

"Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments when due pursuant to a plea agreement. A firearm charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement, will also be filed by the Government," the lawyer added. "I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward."

"Sweetheart deal" for Hunter further evidence of a "two-tier system" of justice

Of course, given the many allegations of other, much more serious crimes allegedly committed by Hunter Biden over the years, Republicans were greatly displeased by what overtly appears to be a mere "slap on the wrist" for the president's son, according to The Hill -- particularly in comparison to the Biden Justice Department's ongoing efforts to incarcerate former President Donald Trump for potentially hundreds of years in the documents case.

"It continues to show the two-tier system in America," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters of the plea deal. "If you are the president’s leading political opponent, the DOJ tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time. But if you are the president’s son, you get a sweetheart deal."

"Now, this does nothing to our investigation," he continued. "It actually should enhance our investigation, because the DOJ should not be able to withhold any information now saying that there’s a pending investigation. They should be able to provide [House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY)] with any information that he requires."

House investigations will continue

Interestingly enough, The Hill noted that while Biden's attorney Clark suggested in his statement that the years-long probe into Hunter is "resolved," the press release from U.S. Attorney David Weiss stated that "The investigation is ongoing" -- a dichotomy that McCarthy called out in his remarks to reporters.

"How can Hunter Biden plead guilty, no jail time, and the DOJ say there’s still an investigation, try to withhold information to the House? That’s unacceptable and will not stand," the speaker said and suggested the move was intentional. "It has to be. Because you cannot plead guilty, say you’re not gonna do jail time, and then say you can’t give papers to the U.S. House of Representatives -- that’s not gonna stand. That’s not gonna work."

As for Chairman Comer, he said, "Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery," and added, "These charges against Hunter Biden and sweetheart plea deal have no impact on the Oversight Committee’s investigation. We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden’s involvement in the family’s schemes are revealed."