White House Censures Trump after Urging Putin to Smear Hunter Biden

By Staff, Agencies

The White House sharply criticized Donald Trump on Wednesday over an interview in which the former president said that Vladimir Putin should release potentially damaging information about Hunter Biden.

“What kind of American, let alone an ex-president, thinks that this is the right time to enter into a scheme with Vladimir Putin and brag about his connections to Vladimir Putin?” said Kate Bedingfield, a White House spokesperson, when asked by reporters. “There is only one, and it’s Donald Trump.”

Trump’s comments come amid a deadly Russian invasion of Ukraine that has displaced millions of people. Speaking in an interview on Just the News TV program that raised unsubstantiated questions about Hunter Biden’s former business dealings in Russia, Trump said: “I think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it.”

Trump’s remarks also came in a week where a federal judge ruled he “more likely than not” committed a felony by trying to overturn his election defeat on 6 January, and as his business remains under investigation.

During the military buildup preceding the invasion of Ukraine, Trump praised Putin as a “genius”. Once the attack had commenced, he condemned it as “appalling.”

Trump’s long-running search for information on Hunter Biden that could be politically damaging to Joe Biden led to the first of his two impeachments, over claims that he withheld millions in aid to pressure Ukrainian officials into announcing investigations into Biden’s son.

It’s not the first time Trump has called for help to attack his political opponents.

During his 2016 presidential campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, the Republican publicly suggested Russian hackers could help find Clinton emails, saying, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails.”