Hunter Biden on his fight against drug use and his relationship with his brother’s widow

Hunter Biden was asked by correspondent Tracy Smith: “You said your father always saw the good in you in the midst of all this. There was a moment when you thought: Okay, there’s no way, he will give up on me, have I done that?“

“Never,” he replied. “Never. Not once.”

Hunter Biden is the president’s second son, a Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist, whose drug problems, personal scandals and well-publicized business seem to have kept him in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

“There is a current investigation by the Justice Department into its finances,” said Smith. “What is it about? Can you say anything?”

“I can’t. But I can say that I am fully cooperating. And I am absolutely certain, 100% sure that, at the end of the investigation, I will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

“Are you 100% sure you will be released?”

“I am 100% sure of that. And all I can do is cooperate and trust the process.”

Since he was a child, Hunter Biden and his older brother, Beau, have been fixated on Joe Biden’s public life, and when the two were injured in the 1972 car accident that killed his mother and sister, his father – a newborn -elected US Senator – took an oath of office in a hospital room.

But as Biden’s children grew older, their paths diverged.

Beau was a Delaware war veteran and attorney general with his eyes set on higher office.

But Hunter, who was expelled from the Navy Reserve after failing a drug test, battled substance abuse for years – and then Beau died of brain cancer in 2015Hunter said he started drinking too much vodka so hard that his father intervened.

“He came to my apartment once,” recalls Hunter. “And that was when he was still in the position of vice president, so he kind of quit the secret service, figured out a way to get home. And I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ He said, ‘Honey, what are you doing?’ I said, ‘Dad, I’m fine.’ He said, ‘You are not well.’ ”

He sought and got help with rehabilitation, but in time he fell off the wagon and sank further into the abyss.

Smith asked, “Did you wake up some mornings – I shouldn’t even say a few mornings, because you slept for, like, 15 minutes at a time – and looked for crack, and just smoked whatever was there?”

“Yes,” said Hunter. “I spent more time on my knees fiddling with carpets, smoking anything that looked even remotely like crack. I probably smoked more Parmesan cheese than anyone you know, I’m sure, Tracy! I mean, I went once for 13 days without sleep. , smoking crack and drinking vodka exclusively all this time. ”

Hunter Biden’s struggle with his personal demons is a big part of his new book, a label from Simon & Schuster (a ViacomCBS company). The title, “Beautiful things”, is a phrase he and his brother shared to remind each other of the good things in life.

Hunter added, “It was the last thing he said to me: ‘Beautiful things’.”

Listen to an excerpt from Hunter Biden’s “Beautiful Things” audiobook about his relationship with his brother Beau during his recovery:

Beau’s death shook the entire Biden family, but the way Hunter handled his pain made headlines when he started dating his brother’s widow.

Smith asked, “After Beau died, did you start a romantic relationship with Hallie, your widow. When the news of this appeared, how did people look at you?”

“I think people were confused by this,” he said. “And I understand that. I mean, I really do. For me, it is not something that is difficult to explain. Because it came from a really overwhelming pain that we both share. And we were together, and trying to make it right. it turned into a hope for a love that maybe could replace what we lost. And it didn’t work. It didn’t work. “

“I mean, did you say you lost customers because of this? Did you lose business because of that? Did you have to leave the World Food Program?” Smith asked.

“Yes. Yes. Well, I made a lot of decisions that I probably shouldn’t have made. There was a lot more compassion and understanding from the people who knew me. But it was a horrible time, too.”

And then, in 2014, young Biden took up a position on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma Holdings, at a time when his father (who was then vice president) had an active role in US policy towards the Ukraine. That raised eyebrows at the time, but in the 2020 elections, Hunter Biden was at the center of a political storm.

From the September 29, 2020 presidential debate:

President Trump: “Hunter was expelled from military service. He was expelled, dishonorably dismissed …”
Vice President Biden: “This is not true, he was not dishonorably dismissed.”
Mr. Trump: “… for cocaine use. And he had no job until you became vice president. After you became vice president …”
Mr. Biden: “None of this is true.”
Mr. Trump: “… he made his fortune in Ukraine, China, Moscow and several other places.”
Mr. Biden: “This is simply not true.”

Smith asked, Hunter: “So, looking back, did you make a mistake by taking a position on that board?”

“No, I don’t think I made a mistake in winning the place on the board,” he replied. “I think I made a mistake in underestimating the way it would be used against me.”

“But you must have seen the optics. Even then you must have seen it, I mean, how could you not have predicted that it would be bad?”

“Because I didn’t really do it. I’m being as honest with you as I can. All I know is that no investigative body, no serious journalist, ever accused, never concluded that I did something wrong, or that my father did something wrong. ”

But the rumors continued: In October 2020, a New York Post article said that emails allegedly showing dubious deals in Ukraine by Hunter Biden were found on a laptop he allegedly left in a Delaware workshop in 2019. The details were incomplete at best, and last month, a declassified intelligence report said that, before the election, the Russians launched a smear campaign against Joe Biden and his family.

The report, Smith said, makes no specific reference to the alleged Hunter Biden laptop. “Was that your laptop?” she asked.

“Seriously, I don’t know,” replied Hunter.

“I know. But you know that, this is not …”

“But what I mean is that I really don’t know. The answer is, that is the real answer.”

“Don’t you know, yes or no, if the laptop was yours?”

“I have no idea. I have no idea whether or not …”

“Then, it could has it been yours? ”

“Sure, certainly,” said Hunter. “There may be a laptop that has been stolen from me. It may be that I have been hacked. It may have been Russian intelligence. It may have been stolen from me.”

“And you didn’t leave a laptop to be repaired in Delaware?”

“No. Not that I remember. No way. Then, we’ll see.”

Hunter Biden says he’s been “rebuilding” now and soberly since he married South African film producer Melissa Cohen in May 2019. If your story means anything, he told Smith, it’s that the only thing more powerful than a monstrous addiction or eviscerating pain is a family love

Smith asked, “Did you say that you and your dad talk every night?”

“Every night. Yes. Yes. Well, we talked at least every night, yes,” replied Hunter. “In fact, not only does he talk to me every night; he calls each of my daughters and talks to each of them every day. And I know he talks to me, and I know he talks to my sister.”

“The President of the United States?”

“Yes, yes. But, by the way, he always did that. I mean, always. He spoke to each of us. But I will tell you why: because he is lost … because he, like me, knows how yes, not to be able to pick up the phone and talk to your child. “

“And he almost lost you.”

“Yes. Yes. Yes. It’s difficult,” said Biden, crying. “I’m a Biden, we cry a lot! But, you know, I think one of the reasons I’m crying is because, you know, beautiful things, we are here. We are here.”

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Story produced by John D’Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler.

Tune in to Anthony Mason’s interview with Hunter Biden on “CBS This Morning” Monday, April 5.