Joe Biden responds to criticism of his son’s Ukraine dealings
Joe Biden said his son did nothing wrong while serving on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, while the elder Biden was in office as vice president. In an interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell for “60 Minutes,” the 2020 presidential candidate said he did his job without any concern about what board his son, Hunter, was on.
“I don’t tell my grown son what he can do, as long as whatever he’s doing is appropriate,” Biden said.
After O’Donnell pressed Biden on whether he considered the optics of his son working for a Ukrainian company while he oversaw U.S. policy in Ukraine as vice president, Biden said Hunter was already on the board when he took office.
“And he’s a grown man,” Biden said. “And it turns out he did not do a single thing wrong, as everybody’s investigated.”
Hunter Biden was reportedly paid $50,000 to $80,000 a month for several years while serving on Burisma’s board. In the “60 Minutes” interview, O’Donnell asks Joe Biden about Hunter’s claim that the only thing his father said to him about it was, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“What I meant by that is I hope you’ve thought this through,” Biden said. “I hope you know exactly what you’re doing here. That’s all I meant. Nothing more than that because I’ve never discussed my business or their business, my sons’ or daughter’s. And I’ve never discussed them because they know where I have to do my job and that’s it and they have to make their own judgments.”
In response to President Trump’s ongoing calls to investigate Hunter Biden further for his work with the company, Joe Biden leveled his own challenge.
“Mr. President, release your tax returns. Let’s see how straight you are, okay old buddy?” Biden said. “I put out 21 years of mine. So show us your tax returns, but. What are you hiding? You want to deal with corruption? Start to act like it. Release your tax returns or shut up.”
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