Hunter Biden said in an interview Wednesday afternoon that the “Trump cult is obsessed with me” after making his surprise statement on Capitol Hill.
The first son stood outside the U.S. Senate and spoke for about five minutes, calling Republicans in the House of Representatives “shameless” for trying to tie his father, President Joe Biden, to his erratic business deals he made while in addiction was on alcohol and crack cocaine.
Later on, Hunter spoke to Axiostelling the news station that Republicans have “weaponized my father's love for me and turned his greatest strengths — his compassion, his empathy, his authenticity — into evidence of corrupt complicity.”
“They've made it very difficult for people to come full circle, and that's why the Trump cult is obsessed with me,” Hunter continued.
“I feel like I have two equal responsibilities now,” he continued. “The first is staying clean and sober, and the second is defending my father. My mistakes are in spite of him – not a reflection of him. And that is why I must call out their lies as loudly and as often as possible in the future.”
Hunter Biden made a surprise statement on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, telling Republicans in the House of Representatives that he would only testify about his business deals at a public hearing. He then told Axios that the 'Trump cult is obsessed with me'
Hunter's appearance on Capitol Hill raised some doubts among White House staff, who feared that the first son to go on the attack would only give more oxygen to the stories about him, Axios reported.
But coverage of Hunter has not abated, and his team believed the lack of response damaged the president's political standing.
The Republicans were able to turn him into a one-dimensional character – the definition of corruption – which seeped into attitudes towards his father.
At the top of his statement, Hunter acknowledged that he had made “mistakes” in his life.
“And wasted opportunities and privileges that I was given,” he said. 'I am responsible for that, I am accountable for that and I am making amends for that.'
He continued, “But I am also here today to correct how the MAGA right has portrayed me for their political purposes.”
Hunter talked about being a son, a father, a brother and a husband “from a loving and supportive family” and how he earned degrees from Georgetown and Yale, saying he was “proud” of both his legal and business careers.
Former President Donald Trump lived up to Hunter Biden's assessment by going after him during a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday evening. “You saw Hunter today, right? He went to the wrong place. He went to the Senate instead of the House of Representatives,” the ex-president said
“For six years, MAGA Republicans, including members of the House committees currently behind closed doors, have questioned my character, violated my privacy, attacked my wife, my children, my family and my friends,” he said. .
“They have ridiculed my battle with addiction, they have belittled my recovery and they have attempted to dehumanize me, all to embarrass and damage my father, who has dedicated his entire public life to service,” the youngster continued Biden.
“For six years I have been the target of Trump's relentless attack machine screaming, 'Where's Hunter?' Well, here's my answer: I'm here,” he added. 'Let me say as clearly as possible: my father was not financially involved in my company, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma, not in my partnership with the Chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home and abroad and certainly not as an artist.'
Hunter admitted, “At the depths of my addiction, I was extremely irresponsible with my finances.”
“But to suggest that this is grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond absurd,” he said. “It's shameless,” he added.
Last week, the Justice Department charged Hunter with nine new tax charges after he was indicted in Delaware on federal firearms charges.
House Republicans have pressed ahead with an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president in an effort to link him to Hunter's business deals in Ukraine and China.
“There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because this did not happen,” Hunter said Wednesday.
He offered to testify at a public hearing but said he would not make a statement behind closed doors.
In doing so, he defied a congressional subpoena that could bring him even more punishment. legal hot water.
'What are they afraid of? I'm here, I'm ready,” Hunter said in closing his statement.
Without missing a beat, former President Donald Trump mocked Hunter during a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday night.
“You saw Hunter today, right?” Trump said. 'He went to the wrong place. He went to the Senate instead of the House of Representatives.'
“Everyone's like, 'Where's Hunter?' Look, it's always, 'Where's Hunter?'” Trump said. “What a two-tiered legal system we have,” the ex-president and 2024 contender noted.