President Biden’s son Hunter deals head-on with decisions that put him at the front and center of the 2020 presidential campaign in his new memoirs, “Beautiful things.”
The book is a revealing look at his long battle with addiction and how he coped with it personal tragedies
He spoke with CBS This Morning co-host Anthony Mason about whether his business dealings ever crossed a line – including work for a Ukrainian company that became a big deal in President Trump’s first impeachment, and whether he regrets it. of having risked his father’s political future. risk.
“The question of whether I would do it again is no,” he said.
In the memoirs, Biden defends his decision to serve on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father oversaw US policy in the region as vice president.
‘You grew up in politics. Didn’t you think you’d put yourself in the bullseye? ‘ Mason asked.
Biden said he “did not fully understand to what level this former government and the people around it would go.”
“The difference between the politics you’re talking about in terms of the last, you know, four years … is a whole different game,” he said. “And I don’t want – never again to hand a weapon over to people who would use it unlawfully – that they use my weapon against my father.”
Another problem arose towards the end of the 2020 campaign. President Trump’s allies and media supporters promoted potentially incriminating documents found on a laptop which may have belonged to Hunter Biden.
The laptop had been delivered to the FBI by the owner of a Delaware computer store.
Biden alone refers to the laptop ever in his book.
Mason asked if the laptop was really his.
‘You don’t need a laptop. You have a book. The book – it’s all in the book. And I don’t know, ”he replied, laughing.
Biden continued, “the serious answer is that I really don’t know the answer to that.”
He said he couldn’t remember leaving a laptop at a repair shop in Delaware.
“But whether someone has my laptop or not, whether it’s a – I’ve been hacked, whether or not a laptop exists, I really don’t know,” he said.
While saying he did not know if he was missing a laptop, Biden noted that “read the book and you will realize that for about four years I was not well informed about assets.”
In late 2020, Biden acknowledged an ongoing investigation by federal authorities into possible tax violations. When asked if his legal team was working on a plea deal, Biden said no.
He told Anthony Mason that he was committed to “cooperating fully” with the appropriate authorities if they needed anything from him.
Asked if President Biden ever benefited financially from his son’s business dealings or received money from him, Hunter Biden confidently said no.
“Nothing, ever,” he said. “Not a penny … Direct or indirect, never a penny.”
In 2018, at the height of his battle with addiction, Biden lost a gun, prompting a law enforcement investigation.
In March, new details emerged that the Secret Service may have become improperly involved.
“It’s a concern that I would hurt myself or hurt myself,” Biden said.
Mason asked, “Hallie, your brother’s widow, threw the gun away. She was trying to protect you? ‘
Biden thought so.
“I think she was just worried about me,” he said, adding that he was going through a rough patch in his life at the time.
He said Hallie’s intention had been “to make sure I didn’t do anything to hurt myself.”
The Secret Service reportedly searched for the sales record at one point.
Biden said he had no idea about that and was unaware at the time.
However, he acknowledged that authorities had been notified of the loss of a gun.
“They had, at the time, you know, we knew the gun was lost. That Hallie had thrown it in a trash can. And I said to her, ‘You can’t do that’ when I realized it was gone, ” he said. “And so she went back and she … the police came to help get the gun that was being picked up. Someone had gone through the garbage and picked it up and they found it in a few hours, I believe. And that. was the end of the story. “
Mason asked again if he was aware of the Secret Service involvement.
‘I had no idea. I don’t know if it was the Secret Service or what – why would they be? I don’t think that’s true. As far as I know, ”Biden said.
The Secret Service told CBS News it has no records of its agents involved in the incident, and President Joe Biden was not under protection at the time.
“Beautiful Things” will be released Tuesday April 6 by Gallery Books, a print from Simon & Schuster, a division of ViacomCBS.
Watch more of CBS This Morning’s interview with Hunter Biden: