Vivek Ramaswamy was the first Republican presidential contender to respond to Hunter Biden's Wednesday plea of not guilty concerning federal tax charges.

President Joe Biden's son had been expected to enter a guilty plea, but his deal with federal prosecutors quickly fell apart at Wednesday's hearing.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEA DEAL COLLAPSES IN COURT AS JUDGE THROWS 'CURVEBALL'

"The Hunter Biden plea deal was a joke from the start. Judge Noreika is now smoking out the truth that this is a feigned retreat: they’re even more scared than ever of scrutiny for the real crimes," Ramaswamy said in a statement. "The 'real' target should be the audio tapes of the alleged bribe for Hunter & Joe Biden from the Ukrainian executive of oligarch-owned Burisma — especially now that Biden is kicking back 'hundreds of billions' to Ukraine to make good on the bribe (and don’t forget that the entire Ukrainian government employee payroll is funded by U.S. taxpayers right now)."

"There cannot be a two-tiered justice system in this country. If there’s a special counsel for the Trump cases, there needs to be one for the Biden cases, too," he concluded. "Public distrust of the American justice system is at an all-time high, and sadly it’s for good reason."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who frequently declines to comment on Hunter Biden's business dealings and legal issues, uncharacteristically sought to head off questions on the topic at the top of Wednesday's press briefing.

"Hunter Biden is a private citizen, and this was a personal matter for him. As we have said, the president and the first lady, they love their son, and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life," she told reporters. "This case was handled independently, as all of you know, by the Justice Department, under the leadership of a prosecutor appointed by the former president, President Trump."

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"So for anything further, as you know, and we've been very consistent from here, I refer you to the Department of Justice and to Hunter's representatives," Jean-Pierre concluded.

It was revealed during Biden's Wednesday hearing that the president's son is still the subject of an ongoing federal investigation, potentially for Foreign Agent Registration Act violations.