On Monday, CNN's Jake Tapper expressed strong conviction regarding the necessity to report on the Hunter Biden controversy, a stance that stands in stark contrast to his position during the 2020 presidential elections.
While guesting on the "On with Kara Swisher" podcast, Tapper was questioned about Hunter Biden's recent settlement agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning his tax offenses. The plea has been criticized as excessively lenient by some, especially following substantial IRS whistleblower claims suggesting that prosecutors were hindered from filing more serious charges. Furthermore, the allegations indicate that investigators were advised not to probe possible financial connections between Hunter and his father, President Biden.
"I think we cover it. We have been covering it and we need to cover it," Tapper said.
"Look, I mean, Hunter Biden is who he is. It's pretty clear who he is," Tapper continued. "In addition to being an addict, he's a guy who ethically has - there have been questions raised about his behavior, and I think it's worth covering. It's also worth covering in context, the context of everything that's being said in terms of like how fact-based any of it is or how evidence-based any of it is, but I'm not gonna shy away from covering Hunter Biden. He is the president's son and has made a lot of money being the president's son."
Tapper's views in July 2023 markedly differ from his stance in October 2020. His current position comes on the heels of the New York Post's explosive revelations regarding Hunter Biden's infamous laptop. The report highlighted questionable overseas business transactions, including a reference to "10% for the big guy" – a phrase that many have interpreted as a reference to Joe Biden.
"The rightwing is going crazy with all sorts of allegations about Biden and his family. Too disgusting to even repeat here," Tapper said to a panel at the time. "I mean, some of the ones I've seen from the president's son and some of the president's supporters are just wildly unhinged."
Though Tapper steered clear of reporting on the Biden controversy during the 2020 election, he was among CNN's foremost proponents of the Russiagate narrative during Trump's tenure. This included providing credence to the discredited Steele dossier, a notorious memo funded by the Clinton campaign and assembled by former British spy Christopher Steele. The dossier contained sensational and baseless allegations about Donald Trump when he was still a candidate.
In May, Tapper conceded that the Durham report dealt a severe blow to the FBI and, to some extent, vindicated Trump.
Trending Political News
Home Depot Worker's Bathroom Selfie Goes Viral With 30 Million Views
Think about uploading a simple photo of yourself during your midday break, only for your uniformed appearance to make a big splash on the internet. This is the exact scenario a Home Depot employee, who uploaded a snapshot of herself in her apron on June 9, experienced. By the end of the weekend, the post gained tremendous traction, propelling "Home Depot" into the trending section on Twitter for multiple consecutive days.
What a boon for free publicity! The post revealed that the employee, named Ariana, works at "the one job [where] I get reminded I'm too pretty to work at," igniting quite a discussion online as the post gained in popularity.
Man Gets Blasted by the Internet for 'Sexist as Hell' Request of Girlfriend: What Do You Think?
A man turned to Reddit's AITA ("Am I the A--hole") subreddit community to seek opinions on whether he was at fault for requesting his girlfriend to adopt a more traditional female role when they visit his family in the near future.
"I have a big family that’s incredibly close," Reddit user GraveYardSchift wrote in a Sunday post.
Liberals Stunned by Who Banned LGBT 'Pride' Flag From City Property
A city council, completely composed of Muslim members including the mayor, passed a unanimous vote on Tuesday night, prohibiting the display of LGBT Pride flags on all municipal properties.
If you asked any liberal, this had to be a group of anti-gay Republicans that cast these votes. Well, liberals were stunned to find out this was a city council completely composed of Muslim members including the mayor, the only U.S. locale where this is the case.
San Francisco Loses Another Massive Downtown Business as City's Troubles Grow
Cinemark Holdings, Inc. is closing its downtown San Francisco theater, making it the most recent significant company to withdraw from the challenging city environment in California.
"Cinemark can confirm it has decided to permanently close the Century San Francisco Centre 9 and XD theater shortly before the conclusion of its lease term following a comprehensive review of local business conditions," a spokesperson for the company told FOX Business in a statement.
Demi Lovato Calls it Quits on Using They/Them Pronounces, Gives Laughable Explanation as to Why
In an interview released on Tuesday, singer Demi Lovato clarified her reasons for reverting to "she/her" pronouns in addition to "they/them" since August 2022, after initially coming out as non-binary in 2021.
Lovato, a 30-year-old pop music sensation, discussed with GQ Hype Spain how it had become "absolutely exhausting" to constantly have to justify the use of these pronouns when referring to herself.
Peter Doocy Asks White House Press Secretary the Question We've All Been Wondering
During a press briefing, Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre directly if President Joe Biden had any involvement in "family business schemes."
The Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee has claimed that there is evidence that Biden lied to the public about his involvement in his family's international business ventures. The new Republican majority in the House has also vowed to investigate the president's son, Hunter, over his dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma and Chinese energy company CEFC China Energy.
