Republicans in Congress are being “cruel” for investigating Hunter Biden, his stepmother said in newly aired comments.
“I think what they are doing to Hunter is cruel, and I’m really proud of how Hunter has rebuilt his life after addiction,” First Lady Jill Biden said in an interview with MSNBC that was released on Jan. 11.
“I love my son and it’s hurt my grandchildren, and that’s what I’m so concerned about—that it’s affecting their lives as well,” she added.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, have led the probe into Hunter Biden, 53. They did not respond to requests for comment on Ms. Biden’s remarks.
The probe is now wrapped up into an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Lawmakers say there’s evidence President Biden participated in and benefited from his son’s business deals.
“Hunter Biden failed to comply with the deposition subpoenas relevant to the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry and the Committees’ oversight investigations,” Mr. Comer said. “Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the Committees’ subpoenas is a criminal act.”
If Mr. Biden is held in contempt, and prosecutors pursue criminal charges, he could be sentenced to jail time. He is also facing tax charges in California and gun charges in Delaware.
Ms. Biden was asked about how it felt to hear some Republicans refer to her family as the “Biden crime family” and for others to use or indicate support for the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” which is an anti-Biden phrase that has a double meaning.
“It’s hard to realize our country, to look at it, what we used to have, and what the other side, the extremists, have turned this country into,” Ms. Biden said. “We would never see things like that say 10 years ago.”
Ms. Biden, 72, doesn’t speak often of Mr. Biden, whose late mother was Neilia Biden, President Biden’s first wife. The first lady’s only child with President Biden is Ashley Biden, 42, who has drawn much less of a spotlight than Mr. Biden.
In a previous interview, released in 2022, Ms. Biden said that her son is innocent.
“Everybody and their brother has investigated Hunter. They keep at it, and at it, and at it. I know that Hunter is innocent. I love my son, and I will keep looking forward,” she told NBC at the time.
President Biden has also voiced support for Mr. Biden, particularly for how he used to be a drug addict but is now, according to him and his family, no longer addicted.
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President Biden, 81, is running for a second term despite widespread concerns about his age. He is already the oldest president in U.S. history.President Biden said he took a “hard look” at his age before deciding on a re-election bid. “I feel good,” he told reporters.
“We have an opportunity to put ourselves in a position where we are economically and politically secure for a long time,” he said later, adding, “So, I think we have to finish the job and nail it down,”
Ms. Biden told MSNBC that the campaign has been “a little scary,” pointing to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But she said she’s committed.
Former President Donald Trump’s description of Jan. 6 defendants as “hostages,” she said, “makes me want to be in the fight even more—because we have to win.“ She added: ”We must win. We cannot let go of our democracy.”
President Biden is capable of serving another term, the first lady maintained.
“I say his age is an asset. He’s wise. He has wisdom. He has experience. He knows every leader on the world stage,” she said. “He’s lived history. He knows history. He’s thoughtful in his decisions. He is the right man or the right person, for the job at this moment.”
President Trump presented a different take in a Fox News town hall this week, saying that under President Biden, there’s chaos at the border and in the military.
“Look at today with Hunter Biden going into Congress and just sitting down and the bedlam that’s been caused today. You have chaos,” President Trump said.
Mr. Biden made a surprise appearance on Capitol Hill as members considered advancing the effort to hold him in contempt.
President Biden “can’t lead,” President Trump added. “You have a man who can’t find his way off a stage after he makes a speech that lasts for about two minutes. ”I think bedlam is Joe Biden.“ He said if he were elected, he would bring ”success.”
