Rep. Matt Gaetz blasted Democrats for brushing off concerns about Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma, given his controversial past.
“An essential element of the Democrats’ case on abuse of power is that the Bidens did nothing wrong,” the Florida Republican said during the hearing. “It can only be an abuse of power and not a correct use of power if the president was pursuing something under which there was no reasonable basis to ask a question about Hunter Biden and Burisma. Hunter Biden and Burisma, well, that’s an interesting story. And I think just about every American knows there’s something up with that.”
Gaetz continued by detailing some of the drug abuse that has followed Biden over the past decade. He referenced a New Yorker profile that detailed the vice president’s son combing a homeless shelter in search of cocaine. He also included details of when Biden left a crack pipe in a car rented from Hertz, which led to Biden’s discharge from the Navy.
“I don’t want to make light of anybody’s substance abuse issues,” he said. “I know the president’s working real hard to solve those throughout the country. But it’s a little hard to believe that Burisma hired Hunter Biden to resolve their international disputes when he could not resolve his own dispute with Hertz rental car over leaving cocaine and a crack pipe in the car.”
The congressman later added, “Again, I’m not casting any judgment on any challenges someone goes through in their personal life, but it’s just hard to believe that this is the guy wandering through homeless encampments buying crack who was worth $86,000 a month to Burisma Holdings.”
Gaetz said this was all evidence that President Trump was justified in wanting to know about potential corruption between Vice President Joe Biden, his son, and Burisma, who placed Hunter Biden in a high-paying board position while the elder Biden was leading diplomatic efforts in Ukraine.
Biden, 49, has struggled with substance abuse for years, with the most recent report of cocaine use occurring as recently as last year. He also had a paternity scandal after he denied that he had fathered a child with an Arkansas woman while she was working as a stripper in Washington, D.C. Court documents later revealed that a paternity test found Biden was the father.
