Conscience clear over Ukraine deals, says Joe Biden’s son Hunter
Hunter Biden has rejected assertions by Donald Trump that he did anything wrong while working in Ukraine and China.
Hunter Biden, acknowledging that his family name created business opportunities, has rejected assertions by Donald Trump that he did anything wrong while working in Ukraine and China.
But Mr Biden, the son of former vice-president Joe Biden, conceded he failed to take into account potential implications for his father’s political career.
“Did I make a mistake? Maybe in the grand scheme of things,” he said in an ABC News interview. “But did I make a mistake based on some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.” The interview aired shortly before the fourth Democratic presidential debate.
Hunter Biden served on the board of an energy company in Ukraine, a fact he said his father learned from press reports.
The younger Biden was a lawyer at a top Washington law firm with expertise in corporate governance. But he acknowledged that he probably would not have been asked to serve on the board if not for his name. “I don’t think there’s a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn’t Biden,” he said. Mr Trump and his Republican allies have targeted Hunter Biden for his work in Ukraine and China, making baseless claims of corruption. Mr Trump’s July 25 phone call pressuring Ukraine’s leader to investigate the Bidens is the focus of a whistleblower complaint that triggered an impeachment inquiry.
The interview came as it emerged Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, was described as a “hand grenade who is going to blow everybody up” by John Bolton, the former national security adviser. Mr Bolton likened Mr Giuliani’s activities on behalf of Mr Trump in Ukraine to a “drug deal”, a former White House aide said. Mr Bolton had advised the aide, Fiona Hill, to report the “rogue” activities of Mr Giuliani to the chief lawyer for the National Security Council, she told three congressional committees at a hearing in private.
AP, The Times
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