Chris Wallace Confronts Biden’s Sister on Whether Hunter’s High Profile Gigs Were About ‘Influence on Joe’

Chris Wallace interviewed President Joe Biden‘s sister Valerie Biden Owens for his new CNN+ show this week, during which he asked quite a few questions on Hunter Biden, including about his personal troubles and criticism of his work with companies in Ukraine and China.

Just before bringing up Burisma, Wallace asked about Hunter Biden being “troubled,” which got some pushback from Owens.

He then brought up controversies over the younger Biden’s overseas business dealings, which came up at Donald Trump‘s impeachment hearing.

“His business deals with Ukraine and China. Back when at least some of them when Joe Biden was Vice President, Hunter was asked about those. And let’s take a look at what he had to say,” said Wallace, who then showed brief excerpts from an ABC News interview from back in October of 2019.

In that interview, Hunter Biden was asked about his qualifications to be on the board, having no “extensive knowledge of natural gas or Ukraine itself,” and whether he considered at the time or after the fact that being the Vice President’s son may have been a major factor. He said that he would “probably not” have been asked to join the board otherwise.

When Trump harped on Hunter’s dealings at a presidential debate during the 2020 campaign, Wallace stopped him and said he thought “the American people would rather hear about more substantial subjects.”

In the clip Wallace showed Owens, Biden said that maybe he’d made a “mistake” but that it wasn’t an “ethical lapse.”

After the clip Wallace pursued that angle.

“Given his lack of experience in these areas, energy in Ukraine and energy in China, it– you can understand where people would think, gee, they were doing business with Hunter because they wanted to have some influence on Joe,” he said. “Would it have been better for him just not to get involved in those deals?”

“Hindsight is everything,” Owens replied, arguing that “these same charges, same accusations, same innuendos” have been raised over and over, and “nothing has come of it.”

“The former president won’t let anything go about Hunter,” she said.

“So you think that he got those jobs on his own in Ukraine and China, and it had nothing to do with who his dad was,” Wallace prompted Owens.

“I think Hunter, I know that Hunter is a very bright young man. I know that he’s a Yale Law School graduate,” she replied. She added that he has been involved in “many businesses” over the years.

“So yeah, I mean, you know, Hunter is a Biden. You can’t, he can’t run. That’s his name,” she said. “And he is he’s a smart and capable and honorable and good young man.”

It was a cordial and somewhat lengthy interview, as is the format for Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, and as in his last interview with Nikole Hannah-Jones, there were some moments tenser than others, with Wallace broaching subjects that sometimes aren’t asked about on other shows or by other outlets.

The relatively large portion of time spent on Hunter Biden was definitely one of those moments, even without once hearing the word “laptop.”

Watch the clip above via Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace on CNN+.