Hunter Biden says his GOP critics are trying to 'kill' him to destroy his father’s presidency

WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden said in a rare interview released Friday that Republicans are trying to "kill" him, suggesting that his critics are engaging in a public campaign to lure him into a substance abuse relapse in an effort to damage his father's presidency.

"They are trying to, in their most illegitimate ... but rational way, they’re trying to destroy a presidency," Hunter Biden said on the podcast "Moby Pod," hosted by the musician Moby.

“What they’re trying to do is, they’re trying to kill me knowing it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle," Hunter Biden said. "I realized that it’s not about me. And then the second thing that I realized is that these people are just sad. Very, very sick people that have most likely just faced traumas in their lives."

The president's son insisted that he’s going to “survive” the public campaign against him. “I’m gonna survive it clean and sober, is because I am not gonna let these motherf------, OK, use me as just another example of why people in recovery are never gonna be OK, never to be trusted, they’re all degenerates — I’m just not gonna let that happen,” he said.

Moby and his co-host, Lindsay Hicks, interviewed Biden at his painting studio in Malibu, California. The musician said that he and Biden have been friends for several years, meeting through their efforts to recover from addiction.

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The interview was recorded before federal prosecutors charged Biden with nine tax-related charges on Thursday, including three felony counts. The additional charges were part of a federal probe that has drawn the attention of congressional Republicans, who have used Biden's legal issues to attack his father's re-election campaign.

After they subpoenaed Hunter Biden in November, House Republicans this week unveiled a resolution to authorize their ongoing impeachment inquiry into the president and his family's business dealings. Multiple House leaders have said a vote is expected next week on the resolution, which would help congressional Republicans enforce subpoenas in their probe into the Biden family.

In the podcast interview, Biden argued that his father has campaigned for president three times before, but it's only now, during his fourth presidential campaign, that he's being vilified. Without naming former President Donald Trump directly, he suggested that his father's predecessor gave people license to spew feelings of rage.

Biden also said that he wants to help people of all backgrounds gain access to and take advantage of rehab facilities.

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"I don’t want to spend my time doing anything other than being of service to people," he said. "And if my voice is not an additive to that, then I don’t want to be a part of this, of this clown show. I don’t want to engage on social media, just for the sake that maybe I will burnish my poll numbers a little bit. Screw that. Because No. 1, nobody’s voting for my dad because of me or not. That’s the goddamn truth."

Hunter Biden is facing several legal woes. In addition to the new tax charges, he was indicted in September on federal charges of possessing a gun while using narcotics.

The Justice Department announced on June 20 that Hunter Biden had agreed to plead guilty to charges related to his business and tax dealings. But after the plea deal broke down, the president's son pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Abbe Lowell, Biden’s lawyer, said Friday in an interview on MSNBC that politics was the reason the plea deal collapsed.

“People should ask, what changed between June 20 and yesterday? And the answer is politics,” Lowell said.