CNN host Jake Tapper questioned President Biden's judgment amid his repeated claims that son Hunter had "done nothing wrong" in his business dealings.
While interviewing Rep. Dan Goldman , D-N.Y., on his Sunday show, Tapper brought up the latest developments in the Hunter Biden probe, with the appointment of federal prosecutor David Weiss to special counsel, before moving on to Biden's defense of his son during his legal troubles.
Tapper noted the president had repeatedly said his son has "done nothing wrong" in media interviews leading up the appointment of the special counsel.
"I understand this is a dad talking about his son," Tapper acknowledged. "But it’s also the President of the United States talking about a potential defendant in a case that his Justice Department is prosecuting. Also, he was about to plead guilty to some of the things he did wrong. Does the president need to stop publicly saying his son did nothing wrong?"
Goldman defended the president, saying that there was no evidence to connect Biden with his son's business dealings. He blasted Republicans in Congress for conducting a "fishing expedition" to link Biden to Hunter's "conduct, when there is no evidence to support that."
Tapper pushed back on the Democrat's claim, citing testimony from Hunter's former business associate, Devon Archer.
Archer told Congress during closed-door testimony that Hunter had put his father on speakerphone during business meetings at least twenty times, as "defensive leverage" to send "the right signals" to his foreign business partners.
Tapper questioned the then-Vice President's "judgment" in being present while Hunter conducted business deals.
"[Y]ou’re right, as there has been no establishment of any facts that Joe Biden did anything as vice president or president… But shouldn’t President Biden have realized what Hunter was doing here getting on the phone, talking on speakerphone with his business associates? Didn’t it, at the very least, show a major lapse in judgment and a blind spot with his son and how he handled this?"
Goldman argued that Archer's testimony did not show Biden had done anything wrong.
"[H]unter Biden was trying to promote an illusion of access to his father for his own reasons, that's Hunter Biden," the Democrat said. "But the president saying ‘hello’ to people when his son puts them on the phone is not doing at all to influence any policy, to use his position for nefarious purposes…" he argued.
Goldman was mocked by conservatives last month after he seemed to concede that Biden did discuss business with Hunter, which Biden has repeatedly denied.
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