- Title: Hunter Biden disputes Trump attacks of his work, wades into impeachment fight
- Date: 13th October 2019
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (FILE - JUNE 18, 2019) (MUTE) (REUTERS) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL AND NEWLY ELECTED UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY SHAKING HANDS AS THEY LEAVE NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 27th October 2019 15:32
- Keywords: Giuliani Trump Joe Biden Ukraine Zelenskiy Donald Trump Hunter Hunter Biden Biden
- Location: INTERNET / CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA; SIOUX FALLS; SOUTH DAKOTA; WILMINGTON, DELAWARE; WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES; TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA; BERLIN, GERMANY; KIEV, UKRAINE
- City: INTERNET / CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA; SIOUX FALLS; SOUTH DAKOTA; WILMINGTON, DELAWARE; WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES; TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA; BERLIN, GERMANY; KIEV, UKRAINE
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA006B0XKMKN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hunter Biden, the son of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, for the first time on Sunday (October 13) defended his work in Ukraine and China, after sustained criticism from Republican President Donald Trump that has embroiled the White House in an impeachment inquiry.
Hunter Biden, who has remained silent for months in the face of the attacks, said through his attorney that he was stepping down from the board of a Chinese company that has been the subject of criticism from Trump and his allies. He added that he would not work for a foreign-owned company if his father is elected president in 2020.
"Hunter undertook these business activities independently," his attorney George Mesires said in a statement. "He did not believe it appropriate to discuss them with his father, nor did he."
Trump's accusations against Hunter Biden - which he has levied without any evidence - and his efforts to get officials in Ukraine to investigate, led Democrats in the U.S. House last month to begin an impeachment inquiry into the president. Democrats assert Trump risked U.S. national security when he withheld aide to Ukraine while simultaneously pressing the country to investigate the Bidens for his own political gain.
The volley of accusations by Trump and against him have rocked the presidential election, putting both his and Joe Biden's campaigns in precarious positions. National public opinion polls have found an increasing share of the American public supports impeaching Trump and removing him from office.
Joe Biden currently leads most public opinion polls in the Democratic primary and most polls in a hypothetical match-up between him and Trump in the November 2020 election.
Joe Biden has also defended his son's work, accusing Trump of only attacking his son because he sees him as a threat to his re-election.
The most recent bout of attacks from Trump have focused on Hunter Biden's work on the board of BHR (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Company, a Chinese firm that was founded to spend Chinese investment capital outside the country.
Hunter Biden invested about $420,000 in the company to obtain an equity stake, but has received no profit since then, according to his attorney.
Hunter Biden intends to step down from the board by Oct. 31, according to the statement. He did not give a reason for his decision to leave the board.
(Production: Katharine Jackson) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
