CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed Democratic New York Rep. Dan Goldman on whether President Joe Biden needs to stop saying his son, Hunter, did not do anything “wrong.”
The president said in a May 5 interview that Hunter “has done nothing wrong” relating to the investigations into his illegal gun charge, tax misdemeanors and foreign business dealings in Ukraine, China and Romania. Hunter struck a deal with prosecutor David Weiss in June to plead guilty to the gun charge and tax misdemeanors in exchange for no jail time, which later imploded during a July court appearance.
Whistleblowers and Hunter’s former business associate, Devon Archer, testified before Congress regarding Hunter’s reported crimes and activity overseas. The failed plea deal and testimony led U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint Weiss as a special counsel into the probe on the first son Friday.
“I understand this is a dad talking about his son, but it’s also the President of the United States talking about a potential defendant in a case that his Justice Department is prosecuting,” Tapper said. “Also, he was about to plead guilty to some things that he did wrong. Does the president need to stop publicly saying his son did nothing wrong?”
“Well look, I think the president has been very clear that he’s gonna let the process play out. What we do know is that through all the investigations in Congress, they’re simply investigating a private citizen,” Goldman answered. “Hunter Biden is not running for president and Joe Biden is running for president and yet, and he is the president, and yet not withstanding, all of the time and effort and all of the moving goal posts, there’s no evidence connecting President Biden to any of his son’s business dealings.”
“And you can sing all you want and make all sorts of accusations, but the fact of the matter is that President Biden, there’s been no evidence to show that he’s been involved in anything,” he continued. (RELATED: ‘Nice Attempt To Pivot’: CNN Panel Gets Testy After GOPer Shuts Down Dem Who Tries To Deflect From Hunter Biden)
Goldman said Hunter should be prosecuted if he had committed a crime and will be treated “as he should be” by the Department of Justice. He again criticized House Republicans for investigating Biden’s involvement with his son’s business dealings by claiming there is no evidence.
Tapper then pointed to Archer’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee that Hunter called his father on speaker phone while surrounded by foreign business associates on over twenty occasions. Goldman, who is a member of the committee, previously told reporters that Hunter and his father were frequently on the phone due to their shared grief over the death of Biden’s oldest son, Beau. He also said the father and son talked about the weather.
“Shouldn’t President Biden have realized what Hunter was doing here?” Tapper asked. “Getting on the phone, talking on speaker phone with his business associates? Did he at the very least show a major lapse in judgment and a blind spot with his son and how he handled this?”
Goldman repeated his claim that Hunter “created an illusion” of his father’s access for his own benefit. He implied that Biden simply said hello to the business associates when put on speaker phone with them on multiple occasions, and did not use his position as the then-vice president to have influence over his son’s dealings.