Joe Biden Claims Allegations Against Son Hunter Are 'Foul Play'
Asking questions about the business dealings of Hunter Biden and his apparent use of his father’s political connections is “foul play,” presumptive President-elect Joe Biden said Thursday night.
Hunter Biden’s lucrative business dealings in Ukraine and China have been subject to allegations that he used his father’s standing as vice president, and later former vice president, to enrich himself and his family.
His actions as a board member of the Ukraine energy company Burisma Holdings were the subject of a September report from the Senate Homeland Security and Finance committees.
“In addition to the over $4 million paid by Burisma for Hunter Biden’s and [associate Devon] Archer’s board memberships, Hunter Biden, his family, and Archer received millions of dollars from foreign nationals with questionable backgrounds,” the report said.
Now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware is investigating Hunter Biden in what he described as a tax matter.
Hunter Biden says the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised his legal counsel yesterday that they are investigating his tax affairs. pic.twitter.com/rYDWCpWgka
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 9, 2020
According to Politico, however, “investigators in Delaware and Washington were also probing potential money laundering and Hunter Biden’s foreign ties.”
With that as the backdrop, Joe Biden, during an appearance on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” was asked about his son.
“You know that the people who want to make hay in Washington are going to try to use your son as a cudgel against you,” Colbert said. “How do you feel about that and what do you have to say to those people?”
“Well, look. I have, we have great confidence in our son,” Biden said. “I am not concerned about any accusations made against him. It’s used to get to me.
“I think it’s kind of foul play. But look, it is what it is, and he’s a grown man. He is the smartest man I know, I mean, for the pure intellectual capacity. And as long as he’s good, we’re good.”
Colbert then asked whether Biden could work with the Republicans who are attacking his son’s actions.
“But if it benefits the country, yes. I really mean it. Because we know who we are,” he said.
When Colbert said that he could not do the same, Biden replied, “Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t mean I’m not angry. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t angry.”
Biden then tossed in another reference to having a high school-style fight with those who have said things he does not like.
“It doesn’t mean if I were back in the days in high school, I wouldn’t say, ‘Come here, you know, and go a round,'” he said.
“But you have to take the high road,” Jill Biden, who was in the interview along with her husband, interjected.
“Look, there’s so much at stake, and the American people, I think they can smell the phoniness, smell what’s true and what’s not true,” the former vice president said after she spoke.
Biden said “I feel badly” for some people in whom he said he was “disappointed.” He did not name names.
Last year, he criticized the actions of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina when Graham sought to gather information about Hunter Biden’s activities.
Sen. Lindsey Graham: “The Biden administration’s ties to China through Hunter Biden need to be looked at to see if that there are any conflicts.” pic.twitter.com/T3q7z8708z
— The Hill (@thehill) December 17, 2020
“Lindsey is about to go down in a way that I think he’s going to regret his whole life,” Biden said last year, according to The Washington Post.
“I say: ‘Lindsey, I just — I’m just embarrassed by what you’re doing, for you. I mean, my Lord,'” Biden said then.
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