Hunter Biden continues to deny President Donald Trump’s accusations that his foreign consulting work in Ukraine and China was corrupt — even though he was paid him millions by foreign companies while his father was vice president.
But Biden did admit that it was a “mistake” that is costing his father ground in the 2020 election. Hunter said he failed to take into account potential implications for his father’s career.
“Did I make a mistake? Maybe in the grand scheme of things,” Hunter Biden said in an ABC News interview that aired on Tuesday.
Joe Biden is a front-runner in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, and the interview with his son aired hours before the fourth Democratic presidential debate.
Hunter continued to claim that he did not discuss his foreign business dealings with his father. He claims he didn’t sell access to the White House, even though pictures have emerged of him and corrupt foreign business leaders on golf outings with then-Vice President Joe Biden.
He made $50,000 a month serving on the board of an energy company in Ukraine, run by a notoriously corrupt businessman that was later jailed. Biden had little experience when he was hired.
He acknowledged on Tuesday 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.
Trump and his Republican allies have targeted Hunter Biden for his work in Ukraine and Chin.
Trump’s July 25 phone call pressuring Ukraine’s leader to investigate the Bidens is the focus of a whistleblower complaint that triggered the formal House impeachment inquiry into Trump. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
Hours after Hunter Biden’s interview aired, Trump said in a tweet that the former vice president’s son was “really bad” in the ABC interview and that “Sleepy Joe has real problems.”
Hunter Biden recently said he would step down from the board of directors of a Chinese firm because his service had become a “distraction.”
“That’s why I have committed that I won’t serve on any board or work on any foreign entities when Dad becomes president,” he said. “That’s the rule I’m going to adhere to.”
In recent weeks, Trump has relentlessly mocked Hunter Biden, to the point that his presidential campaign began selling shirts that say, “Where’s Hunter?” highlighting that the former vice president’s son had been out of the public spotlight for weeks.
At a recent political rally, Trump noted that Hunter Biden had been thrown out of the Navy.
Hunter Biden was discharged from the Navy Reserve in 2014 after failing a drug test and has struggled with alcohol and drug abuse. He told ABC News that, “like every single person that I’ve ever known, I have fallen and I’ve gotten up.”
“I’ve done esteemable things and things that are — have been in my life that I regret. Every single one of those things has brought me exactly to where I am right now, which is probably the best place I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve gone through my own struggles.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article