While the liberal broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) were trying to sweep the corruption accusations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter under the rug, Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith pulled out a microscope and shared what he found on Tuesday’s edition of Special Report.
“49-year-old Hunter Biden is no stranger to controversy,” Meredith noted at the top of his report before reminding viewers that Hunter was hired to the board of Ukraine oil company Burisma in 2014. He recalled that “at the time, reporters asked the Obama administration if it was a conflict of interest for then-Vice President Biden.”
Meredith followed up with this soundbite of then-White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, from May 2014, downplaying any suggestion of a conflict of interest:
JAY CARNEY [then-White House press secretary]: Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family are obviously private citizens. Where they work is not reflect an endorsement by the administration. Or by the Vice President or President.
After noting that before working for Burisma, Hunter had his own “consulting firm” and was on the board of Amtrak (a favorite company of his father’s), Meredith spoke with Democratic strategist and Fox News commentator Kevin Walling, who said Hunter’s last name played a big part in getting the Ukraine gig.
“I’m the first one to say, I don't think Hunter, if his last name were Smith, would be on this board. Mainly because of that Biden connection, but I think two, the character that has become in terms of growing up as his father's son,” Walling explained.
Apparently, Joe Biden may not have been telling the truth about “never” speaking with his son “about his overseas business dealings.”
“Fox’s Tucker Carlson Tonight obtained this photo believed to be from 2014 showing the Bidens on a golf course with a Burisma border member,” Meredith reported. “President Trump’s son, Don Jr., suggested on Twitter the photo contradicts the former VP’s statement.”
Meredith noted that other Dems felt that Hunter’s other controversies might hamper his father’s campaign:
MEREDITH: Political pundits believe Hunter's public struggle with addiction and past business dealings remain an issue on the campaign trail.
FORMER SENATOR ROBERT TORRICELLI (D-NJ): I like Joe and I think he's a very fine man. I think he serves his country amicably. But, some of this is inextricable.
While the liberal broadcast networks were busy covering for the Bidens to keep the focus on Trump, there were others who saw the problem. In a Fox News piece last week, Clinton Cash author Peter Schweizer found, “Over a 16-month period, Burisma paid $3.1 million to a bank account associated with Hunter’s business.”
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The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel’s Special Report
October 1, 2019
6:07:00 p.m. EasternBRET BAIER: Joe Biden's son, Hunter is at the center of the Ukraine controversy. President Trump has accused the Biden family of corruption up over Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and China. Tonight, correspondent Mark Meredith looks a closer look at Hunter Biden and how his professional and personal history could affect his father's political future.
[Cuts to video]
HUNTER BIDEN: My father, Joe Biden.
MARK MEREDITH: 49-year-old Hunter Biden is no stranger to controversy. The focus these days is on his decision in 2014 to join the board of directors of Burisma, a Ukrainian national gas company. At the time, reporters asked the Obama administration if it was a conflict of interest for then-Vice President Biden.
JAY CARNEY [then-White House press secretary]: Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family are obviously private citizens. Where they work is not reflect an endorsement by the administration. Or by the Vice President or President.
MEREDITH: Before Burisma, Hunter had some corporate experience. He had served on the board of Amtrak and launched his own consulting firm. But we asked Kevin Walling, Biden supporter, if he could see why Biden’s work in Ukraine could raise red flags for some people.
KEVIN WALLING: I’m the first one to say, I don't think Hunter, if his last name were Smith, would be on this board. Mainly because of that Biden connection, but I think two, the character that has become in terms of growing up as his father's son.
MEREDITH: Hunter accompanied his dad on at least one overseas trip; that was to China in 2013. Last month, now-candidate Biden denied any involvement in his son's affairs.
JOE BIDEN: I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.
MEREDITH: Fox’s Tucker Carlson Tonight obtained this photo believed to be from 2014 showing the Bidens on a golf course with a Burisma border member. President Trump’s son, Don Jr., suggested on Twitter the photo contradicts the former VP’s statement. Walling says attacks on Hunter are unwarranted.
WALLING: I think he can take the attacks. I think, obviously, the Vice President can take the attacks. Is it a sad reflection of our politics and a sad reflection of what this President needs to do? He thinks, in order to win. I think that is more of the case.
MEREDITH: Political pundits believe Hunter's public struggle with addiction and past business dealings remain an issue on the campaign trail.
ROBERT TORRICELLI [D-former New Jersey Senator] I like Joe and I think he's a very fine man. I think he serves his country amicably. But, some of this is inextricable.
[Cuts back to live]
MEREDITH: The Biden campaign did not respond to our request for comment. Hunter no longer serves on Burisma's board. He told The New Yorker, this past summer, he had no idea his time there would have created so much grief for his father's campaign. Bret.
BAIER: Mark, thank you.
