Former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden in a new interview concedes he exercised "poor judgment" in serving on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
Biden spoke with ABC News in an interview Tuesday about his work with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian oil and gas company where he served on the board. He has faced criticism from those who say he was inappropriately profiting from his father's position while the former vice president was overseeing Ukraine policy, as well as unfounded allegations of illegal activity from President Trump, whose request that Ukraine's president investigate Biden sparked an impeachment inquiry.
In the interview, Biden concedes that "in retrospect," he used "poor judgment" in getting "in the middle of something that is a swamp in many ways." He also admits he "probably" wouldn't have gotten the position if his last name wasn't Biden, although he defended his qualifications and again denied anything allegations of illegality, saying he did "nothing wrong."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Did I make a mistake? Well, maybe in the grand scheme of things, yeah," Biden said. "But did I make a mistake based upon some ethical lapse? Absolutely not." He also said it was a mistake in that he "gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father." Biden denied ever discussing his work with Burisma with his father outside of one "brief exchange."
This interview aired the morning of the fourth Democratic presidential debate, though whether any of Biden's opponents will seize upon this criticism or dismiss it as a distraction remains unclear. Brendan Morrow
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oilSpeed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymanderSpeed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting voteSpeed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
