Joe Biden is “beyond beleaguered”, says Michael Goodwin in the New York Post. With inflation starting to bite, crime rising and his agenda stalling in Congress, the 46th president’s approval ratings are under 40%. And what many people don’t realise is that “another bombshell waits in the wings” – one that could “deliver a fatal blow to his presidency”. The issue is the questionable foreign business dealings of his son, Hunter – and whether Biden, when he was vice president, helped facilitate any of them. The Justice Department is investigating; given the flurry of witnesses being interviewed, it looks like the case is “coming to a head”.
The president insists there is nothing amiss. He said in 2020 that his son did nothing “unethical”, and never made any money from China. But the latter is clearly untrue. A Senate probe has shown that $4.8m was wired from a Chinese official to accounts controlled by Hunter. There are also reports that Hunter has a 10% stake in a partnership with a Chinese bank – an arrangement agreed “on a trip to Beijing in 2013 with his father, then the vice president”. In a leaked email, a partner in another deal said Hunter was holding 10% of equity “for the big guy” – which is Biden Sr, according to another associate. It’s shady stuff. And if Hunter is indicted, “it’s hard to see how his father’s presidency survives”.