Hunter Biden Finally Speaks on Ukraine Dealings, Attempts To Shift Blame to Trump
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, spoke out this week regarding his controversial dealings in Ukraine during his father’s time as vice president.
In an interview with ABC News that aired Tuesday, Hunter Biden claimed he is innocent of any wrongdoing, but said he does regret any damage done to his father’s political reputation as a result of his involvement with a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma Holdings.
Hunter Biden previously sat on the board of the Ukrainian firm, which has come under serious scrutiny in recent weeks — in large part due to House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings with the Eastern European nation.
“I gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father. That’s where I made the mistake,” Biden said. “I take full responsibility for that.”
EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden says he doesn’t regret serving on board of Ukrainian gas company.
“What I regret is not taking into account that there would be a Rudy Giuliani and a president…that would be listening to this—this ridiculous conspiracy idea.” https://t.co/h6P0pJJhJR pic.twitter.com/FOeiXNkUjs
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 15, 2019
“Did I do anything improper? No, not in any way. Not in any way whatsoever,” he said.
Burisma was at one time investigated by a prosecutor who Joe Biden — the Obama administration’s point man for Ukrainian foreign policy — pressured the country to fire.
Earlier this year, a Ukrainian anti-corruption government agency requested that the investigation into Burisma be reopened — in part due to”unusual transactions” worth millions of dollars, according to investigative reporter and Fox News contributor John Solomon.
But Hunter Biden told ABC his father never leveraged U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine in order to protect his firm. And he said he has no regrets about his firm’s business dealings.
Instead, Biden blamed Trump for the “conspiracy” circulating around Burisma, saying his only regret was that his involvement with the firm provided any opportunity for his father’s political opponents to allege a conflict of interest.
“What I regret is not taking into account that there would be a Rudy Giuliani and a president of the United States that would be listening to this — this ridiculous conspiracy idea,” Biden said.
Biden also said the controversy was simply an attempt by the Trump administration to distract from its own alleged improprieties on the world stage.
EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden says he did nothing “improper” while serving on board of Ukrainian gas company, but may have showed “poor judgment” in joining.
“Was it poor judgment to be in the middle of something that is…a swamp in—in—in many ways? Yeah.” https://t.co/dj8VTQKwIO pic.twitter.com/3ZiYkmpq7h
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 15, 2019
“What they do is they create just an enormous amount of noise,” Biden said. “I have to then answer questions — about accusations made by probably the most unethical group of people that we’ve ever seen in this republic.”
He referenced Trump’s July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump mentioned the Bidens.
When he read a transcript of the call, Biden said that “like every other American — I was shocked.”
Biden would also defend his father’s decision-making process as vice president.
“I made a mistake in retrospect as it related to creating any perception that that was wrong,” he said.
“My dad has never made a decision about anything, I’m absolutely certain, taking into account anything other than what is best for the American people and what the people that elected him to do,” Hunter Biden said.
“I am 100 percent certain of that.”
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