00:00 Good morning. Mr Biden is going to have a statement to make and will not be able to
00:08 take any questions today. We appreciate you all being here.
00:13 Good morning. I'm here today to answer at a public hearing any legitimate questions
00:21 Chairman Comer and the House Oversight Committee may have for me. I'm here today to make sure
00:27 that the House Committee's illegitimate investigations of my family did not proceed on distortions,
00:34 manipulated evidence, and lies. And I'm here today to acknowledge that I've made mistakes
00:44 in my life and wasted opportunities and privileges I was afforded. For that, I'm responsible.
00:52 For that, I'm accountable. And for that, I'm making amends.
01:00 But I'm also here today to correct how the Magelright has portrayed me for their political
01:05 purposes. I am first and foremost a son, a father, a brother, and a husband from a loving
01:17 and supportive family. I'm proud to have earned degrees from Georgetown University and Yale
01:23 Law School. I'm proud of my legal career and business career. I'm proud of my time serving
01:30 on a dozen different boards of directors. And I'm proud of my efforts to forge global
01:35 business relationships. For six years, MAGA Republicans, including
01:43 members of the House Committees who are in a closed-door session right now, have impugned
01:49 my character, invaded my privacy, attacked my wife, my children, my family, and my friends.
02:00 They've ridiculed my struggle with addiction. They've belittled my recovery. And they have
02:07 tried to dehumanize me, all to embarrass and damage my father, who has devoted his entire
02:15 public life to service. For six years, I have been the target of the
02:23 unrelenting Trump attack machine shouting, "Where's Hunter?"
02:28 Well, here's my answer. I am here. Let me state as clearly as I can. My father was not
02:38 financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member
02:44 of Burisma, not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman, not in my investments
02:50 at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist. During my battle with addiction, my
03:01 parents were there for me. They literally saved my life. They helped me in ways that
03:10 I will never be able to repay. And of course, they would never expect me to.
03:15 And in the depths of my addiction, I was extremely irresponsible with my finances. But to suggest
03:24 that as grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond the absurd. It's shameless. There's
03:31 no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business
03:37 because it did not happen. James Comer, Jim Jordan, Jason Smith, and their colleagues
03:50 have distorted the facts by cherry picking lines from a bank statement, manipulating
03:56 texts I sent, editing the testimony of my friends and former business partners, and
04:03 misstating personal information that was stolen from me. There is no fairness or decency in
04:09 what these Republicans are doing. They have lied over and over about every aspect of my
04:20 personal and professional life, so much so that their lies have become the false facts
04:26 believed by too many people. No matter how many times it is debunked, they continue to
04:33 insist that my father's support of Ukraine against Russia is the result of a non-existent
04:39 bribe. They displayed naked photos of me during an oversight hearing. And they have taken
04:48 the light of my dad's love for me and presented it as darkness. They have no shame. These
05:03 same committee chairmen have engaged in unprecedented political interference in what would have
05:09 already been a five-year investigation of me. Yet, here I am, Mr. Chairman, taking up
05:19 your offer when you said we can bring these people in for depositions or committee hearings,
05:25 whichever they choose. Well, I've chosen. I am here to testify at a public hearing today
05:33 to answer any of the committee's legitimate questions. Republicans do not want an open
05:42 process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what
05:51 I have to say. What are they afraid of? I'm here. I'm ready.
