Joe Biden has denied talking about “business” on repeated phone calls with his son, Hunter Biden, and his business associate, Devon Archer, during a fiery exchange with Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
Doocy, who has been absent from the network for much of the latest Biden scandal while away on paternity leave, confronted Biden about Archer’s congressional testimony earlier this week.
The reporter challenged, “There’s this testimony now where one of your son’s former business associates is claiming that you were on speaker phone a lot talking business.
“I never talked business,” said Biden, seemingly admitting the phone calls happened for the first time. “I knew you’d have a lousy question,” added the 80-year-old.
DOOCY CONFRONTS BIDEN:
“There's this testimony now where one of your son's former business associates is claiming that you were on speaker phone a lot talking business.”
BIDEN: “I never talked business…I knew you'd have a lousy question”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 9, 2023
Biden previously claimed he had no knowledge of his son’s foreign business dealings, and that he never spoke to Hunter on the phone about his business.
Archer’s testimony – and a letter from the then-vice president – seemed to fly directly in the face of Biden’s previous claims, though Democrats have largely pivoted to insist Biden may have spoken to Hunter during business meetings, but the conversations would not have been improper.
This has become a key talking point for allies of Joe Biden: The vice president spoke to his son to make sure Hunter was not using drugs, and the two instead would discuss the weather.
Archer, meanwhile, claimed that Ukrainian energy company Burisma only worked with Hunter because of the Biden family “brand,” which Archer said was likely responsible for allowing Burisma to continue to exist despite legal threats.
Republicans allege that Burisma and Hunter, who was a board member of the company making $80,000 per month, asked Biden to pressure Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was investigating corruption claims surrounding the energy company. Biden ultimately boasted about threatening to withhold $1 billion from Ukraine unless the prosecutor was fired.
Since Archer’s testimony, House Republicans revealed that Hunter received more than $20 million from foreign oligarchs and companies in Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
Populist House Republicans and strident supporters of former President Donald Trump continue to push for an impeachment inquiry against Biden, a move House Speaker Kevin McCarthy maintains is on the table.
However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said such a move is “not good for the country” while speaking to The New York Times earlier this week.
The move may be popular with some voters, however, as a recent poll found 51% of Americans support an impeachment probe into Biden.
