Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden dismissed claims that his son, Hunter Biden leveraged his position when he was Vice President to secure overseas business deals, calling profitable the allegations “garbage” and a “last-ditch effort” from President Trump’s “desperate campaign to smear me and my family.”
Biden, despite calling a lid the last three days before Thursday’s final debate did a remote interview with WISN-12, an ABC affiliate in Milwaukee. Before the WISN reporter Adrienne Pedersen could ask Biden the question, a campaign aide attempted to end the interview, telling her: “Adrienne, that’s all the time we have, I’m so sorry.”
Pedersen pushed back and ignored the aide, telling Biden this “effects Wisconsin” residents saying, “Sen. Ron Johnson, put out a statement on Homeland Security letterhead saying Hunter Biden, together with other Biden family members, profited off the Biden name.”
“Is there any legitimacy to Sen. Johnson’s claims?” she asked.
“None whatsoever,” Biden replied. “This is the same garbage Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s henchman. It’s the last-ditch effort in this desperate campaign to smear me and my family.”
Johnson released a statement on Senate Homeland Security Committee letterhead Monday criticizing the media for “ignoring findings from his committee’s investigation” on the Biden family and “suppressing the information, which is a scandal in and of itself.”
Last month, Johnson and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released an 87-page report titled “Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns.” The report was based on the months worth of committee investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings, including joint ventures in China and service on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
Biden exploded on Johnson, saying the Wisconsin Senator “should be ashamed of himself.”
“Ron should be ashamed of himself,” Biden said, claiming that the vast majority of intelligence officials have said there’s no basis to the claim at all.
The “vast majority” of intelligence Biden is referring to comes is based on a letter signed by 50 partisan intelligence officials on Monday, with a majority of those served under the Obama-Biden Administration that includes ex-CIA chief John Brennan and former DNI James Clapper. The letter claims the emails allegedly found on the laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation,” but admitted they had no actual evidence to their claim.
However, the Justice Department and the director of national intelligence shot down former intelligence community officials notion, saying the laptop of Hunter Biden is “not part of some Russian disinformation campaign.”
“Hunter Biden’s laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said Monday during an appearance on Fox Business’ ‘Mornings with Maria.’ “Let me be clear: The intelligence community doesn’t believe that because there is no intelligence that supports that. And we have shared no intelligence with Adam Schiff, or any member of Congress.”
“Even the man who served with him on that committee, the former nominee for the Republican Party, said there’s no basis to this,” Biden added, forgetting for the second time in one week the name of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT). The Utah Senator who serves on the Homeland Security panel criticized Johnson last month for the probe into Hunter Biden, saying that “it’s not the legitimate role of government or Congress … to be used in an effort to damage political opponents.”
This is the second time since the New York Post story broke last Wednesday that Biden was asked to address the story. On Friday, Biden was asked about the story for the first time by a CBS reporter to which he lashed out in his response.
“Mr. Biden, what is your response to the New York Post story about your son, sir?” CBS reporter Bo Erickson asked.
“I know you’d ask it. I have no response, it’s another smear campaign,” Biden lashed at Erickson. “Right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask.”
The majority of mainstream media have refused to report on the New York story, shielding the former Vice President as he has yet to publicly dispute any parts of the story’s claim.
Just 24 hours after the NY Post published the first “smoking-gun” email story, Biden took part in a 90- minute ABC Town Hall and didn’t receive one question about the report. At the same time, the Post rocked the political world with this bombshell report, Twitter and Facebook began blocking those from posting the NY Post article, with Twitter even going to the extreme and suspending prominent conservative accounts, as well as those from the Trump administration.
Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told Fox Business that Trump is prepared to bring this issue front and center during Thursday’s debate if moderator NBC News’ Kristen Welker fails to question Biden.
“I think Joe Biden is compromised … Joe Biden has now dodged this multiple times. Are you the ‘big guy?’ Are you the ‘chairman?’ Is Hunter Biden handling family expenses and setting aside money for you?” Miller said on Fox Business ‘Mornings with Maria.’ “If Kristen Welker, the moderator, doesn’t bring it up, I think you’re pretty safe to assume that the president will. Again, these are real simple questions.”
20202020 Election2020 Presidential Debate2020 Presidential RaceBurismaHunter BidenJoe BidenNew York PostPresident TrumpSen. Ron Johnson
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