Republicans, including Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, are criticizing the Justice Department for slow-walking its investigation into Hunter Biden, an inquiry that became public weeks after the 2020 election when it was already two years old.

Fitton and others’ scrutiny is a reaction to reports from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal that federal agents are confident they have enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes and a false statement regarding a gun purchase. The decision rests with the Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. attorney, but there are reportedly concerns the younger Biden’s addictions could undermine their case.

“The story that’s in plain sight is that the Justice Department has been investigating Hunter Biden for four years, and they still don’t want to do what, seemingly, the law requires, which is to prosecute him,” Fitton told the Washington Examiner. “They’re pretending that Hunter’s alcohol and drug problems could be a defense, and they’re nervous about it. I mean, it’s just absurd.”

“The Justice Department, to the degree they would move forward against Hunter, would be in a way as to minimize exposure for Joe,” Fitton added. “It’s going to be harder for the Biden administration to avoid these corruption issues with a Republican House.”

House Oversight Committee Republicans offered a preview last month of what to expect next Congress if the GOP wins a majority in either or both chambers. Ranking member Rep. James Comer (R-KY), for instance, forced a vote on a resolution that would have compelled the administration to disclose details related to the broader Biden family’s foreign business dealings.

The Justice Department is unlikely to indict Hunter Biden before November’s elections, if at all, according to former Arkansas U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins. For Cummins, that is the right decision based on the investigation’s political considerations, but he expressed surprise with respect to the case’s narrow scope.

“It may be because the U.S. attorney can only rely on IRS and ATF investigators at this point,” he said, referring to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

GOP strategists and operatives, including at the Republican National Committee, are comparing the Justice Department’s approach to Hunter Biden with that to Donald Trump, contending the former president is being treated differently. As Trump involves the Supreme Court in the special master review of classified materials seized during the FBI‘s search of his Mar-a-Lago home and office in Florida, federal agents are reportedly questioning whether the previous president still has government records in his possession.

“Now Hunter now knows how it feels to have somebody breathing down his neck — quite a change for someone from the Biden family,” RNC spokesman Will O’Grady said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was needled about the Justice Department’s Hunter Biden investigation during a quick, informal briefing Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Maryland. The first son was last seen publicly with his father, his wife, Melissa Cohen, and the couple’s toddler, Beau Biden, during the president’s summer vacation in South Carolina.

“As you know, this is an ongoing investigation being handled independently by the Department of Justice, so I would refer you to the Department of Justice,” Jean-Pierre said before the plane landed after the short flight.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Chris Clark, defended his client more vociferously, reminding reporters it is a federal felony for a federal agent to leak information about a grand jury investigation, which will help determine whether charges can be laid. Clark called on the Justice Department to “prosecute such bad actors.”

“As is proper and legally required, we believe the prosecutors in this case are diligently and thoroughly weighing not just evidence provided by agents, but also all the other witnesses in this case, including witnesses for the defense,” he wrote. “It is regrettable that law enforcement agents appear to be violating the law to prejudice a case against a person who is a target simply because of his family name.”

The Hunter Biden reporting precedes a possible repeat of the 2020 election when news broke in December, after votes were counted, that the Justice Department had been investigating his “tax affairs.”

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In a statement disseminated by the then president-elect’s transition team, Hunter Biden insisted he has filed his taxes “legally,” “appropriately,” and with professional assistance. Joe Biden issued a statement in the same email, adamant he is “deeply proud of his son, who has fought through difficult challenges, including the vicious personal attacks of recent months, only to emerge stronger.”