Sen. Tom Cotton demanded President-elect Joe Biden be more transparent about his family’s financial dealings.
During an interview Thursday night with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Arkansas Republican called on Biden to hold a press conference to answer questions about the controversy being fueled by federal authorities conducting a tax investigation into his son Hunter.
“I’d like Joe Biden to come clean entirely about what was going on with, not just his son, but his brother and his sister. His entire family has trading on his name and his public life for 50 years,” Cotton began, applauding Carlson for interviewing Hunter Biden’s former business associate Tony Bobulinski. “Joe Biden should have a press conference and address all this.”
Cotton said President Trump, shortly before his inauguration in 2017, took questions from reporters, including about Russian interference in the 2016 election. “It was a classic. He denounced the so-called dossier. He claimed there was no collusion, which was later established by none other than Robert Mueller himself. He tackled questions about his business. I think it was the first press conference in which he called Jim Acosta fake news,” Cotton said. “That’s exactly what Joe Biden needs to do, he needs to come out and speak to the press, speak to everyone in the press and answer all their questions.”
Cotton was reacting to an interview Biden gave to comedian Stephen Colbert in which he defended Hunter, calling him the “smartest” man he’s ever known. “We have great confidence in our son. I’m not concerned about any accusations that have been made against him. It’s used to get to me. I think it’s kind of foul play. But look, It is what it is, and he’s a grown man,” Biden told Colbert.
Hunter Biden acknowledged in a statement last week that his tax affairs were being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware.
“I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” he wrote. “I take this matter very seriously, but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers.”
Joe Biden defended his son on Friday during a press event in Wilmington, Delaware. “I’m proud of my son,” the elder Biden said.
There have been growing calls among Republicans, including Cotton, for a special counsel investigation into Hunter’s foreign business dealings and taxes, an idea which Trump reportedly favors, to provide the inquiries added protection against Joe Biden moving to squash them. Trump tweeted on Thursday he has “NOTHING” to do with the potential prosecution of Hunter Biden.
