Joe Biden Admits His Son's Burisma Board Position Was a 'Bad Image'
Former Vice President Joe Biden admitted it looked inappropriate for his son, Hunter Biden, to become a board member for the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings while his father served as the Obama administration’s point man for Kyiv.
NBC News “Today” host Savannah Guthrie asked Biden in an interview on Sunday if he could see a “certain irony” in the Democratic impeachment effort against President Donald Trump resulting in bringing Hunter’s position with Burisma to the public’s attention.
“That’s a good thing and no one’s found anything wrong with his dealings in Ukraine except they say it sets a bad image,” Biden responded.
Guthrie followed up, asking if the former vice president agreed that it set a “bad image.”
“Yeah. And my son said that,” Biden responded.
.@JoeBiden snaps at @SavannahGuthrie after she asks about Hunter Biden: “You’re saying things you don’t know what you’re talking about!” pic.twitter.com/4O4LmLNenb
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 3, 2020
Hunter Biden took a position on Burisma’s board in April 2014, months after his father was named the Obama administration’s point man for Ukraine.
Hunter reportedly was paid at least $50,000 a month and possibly upward of $83,000 a month to sit on the board. He stepped down from the board in 2019.
Guthrie did not let go of the topic, asking Joe Biden if he felt it was right for Hunter to take the position, knowing Burisma was just “trying to buy access.”
“You’re saying things you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Biden fired back. “No one said that. Who said that?”
Guthrie took Biden’s aggressive response in stride, asking, “Don’t you think it’s just one of those things where people think, ‘That’s kind of sleazy. Why would he have that job, if not who his father was?”
“Because he’s a very bright guy,” Biden replied.
The “Today” host took one more stab at it, asking, “Was it right?”
“He said he regretted having done it,” Biden answered. “He speaks for himself. He’s a grown man.”
Here’s a lengthier video of the interview. Guthrie’s “irony” question comes about the 3:20 mark.
Hunter Biden said in an October interview with ABC News, “In retrospect, look: I think that it was poor judgment on my part” to join the Burisma board.
EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden says he did nothing “improper” while serving on board of Ukrainian gas company, but may have showed “poor judgment” in joining.
“Was it poor judgment to be in the middle of something that is…a swamp in—in—in many ways? Yeah.” https://t.co/VvCTwfIUm6 pic.twitter.com/X2LD0vAnyq
— ABC News (@ABC) October 15, 2019
“I know that I did nothing wrong at all. However, was it poor judgment to be in the middle of something that is a, it’s a swamp in many ways? Yeah. And so I take full responsibility for that.”
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