Hunter Biden blamed Republicans on Thursday for weaponizing his cocaine and alcohol addictions through “fruitless congressional investigations” and waging a “disinformation” campaign against his father, President Biden.
In an op-ed published in USA Today, Hunter Biden also complained that his status as the president’s son is the main reason the Justice Department is prosecuting him for illegal gun possession. He said his father is getting the blowback unfairly.
“My struggles and my mistakes have been fodder for a vile and sustained disinformation campaign against him and an all-out annihilation of my reputation through high-pitched but fruitless congressional investigations and, more recently, criminal charges for possessing an unloaded gun for 11 days five years ago — charges that appear to be the first ever of their kind brought in the history of Delaware,” Hunter Biden wrote.
The long-running prosecution threatens to bring more negative publicity for the president as he seeks reelection next year.
Hunter Biden also took shots at GOP pundits and allies of former President Donald Trump, saying they’re exploiting his personal problems for political goals and making it harder for other addicts to seek treatment.
“The weaponization of my addiction by partisan and craven factions represents a real threat to those desperate to get sober but are afraid of what may await them if they do,” he wrote. “My addiction doesn’t justify Steve Bannon and [exiled Chinese businessman] Guo Wengui posting altered nude photos of me with ‘editorial creativity over the pictures.’ My addiction shouldn’t permit the likes of Rudy Giuliani or a former Peter Navarro aide to debase and dehumanize me for their own gains.”
Hunter Biden said the decision to get sober is difficult, and “the avalanche of negativity and assault of my personal privacy may only make it harder for those considering it.”
He added, “What troubles me is the demonization of addiction, of human frailty, using me as its avatar and the devastating consequences it has for the millions struggling with addiction, desperate for a way out and being bombarded by the denigrating and near-constant coverage of me and my addiction on Fox News (more airtime than GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis) and in the New York Post (an average of two stories a day over the past year).”
House Republicans are investigating Hunter Biden’s lucrative foreign business deals with China, Ukraine and others dating back to his father’s service as vice president in the Obama administration. They allege that the elder Biden encouraged his son to trade off the family name, netting millions for him and other family members.
The GOP also has begun an impeachment inquiry of the president involving allegations essentially of a family pay-to-play operation.
In the firearm case, special counsel David Weiss indicted Hunter Biden on felony gun charges last month after a plea deal fell apart. Hunter Biden is charged with two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm and a third count of illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs.
The two counts of making false statements carry sentences of up to 10 years and five years, respectively, while the possession charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
While Hunter Biden claims the gun prosecution is unprecedented in Delaware, whistleblowers and critics say he has received favorable treatment in the long-running probe that also involves allegations of tax evasion. They say in other jurisdictions, the gun charges would not be wiped away in a pretrial diversion program, which was part of Hunter Biden’s initial plea agreement.
The president’s son said Republicans are exploiting his addiction, which consisted of drinking a bottle of vodka per day and taking “as many hits on a crack pipe as possible.”
“By any standard, I grew up with privilege and opportunity, and fully accept that the choices and mistakes I made are mine, and I am accountable for them and will continue to be,” he wrote. “That is what recovery is about.”
He said his family is also enduring “this shaming and humiliation” of him.
“For those of us who live in recovery and for those who love someone in recovery, we know how hard-fought our newfound lives are in letting go of the shame and making amends,” he wrote.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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