Senate Democrat calls House GOP Hunter Biden investigation a ‘witch hunt’ 

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Sunday called the House GOP investigation into Hunter Biden a “witch hunt” and said he has no concerns about the White House’s positioning on the matter. 

Murphy was asked to respond to accusations by House Republicans involving a 2017 text message Hunter Biden sent to a Chinese businessman that claims he was sitting with his father, the then-vice president at the time. Biden has maintained that he was not in business with his son.

“I don’t have any concerns. I think this is a witch hunt,” Murphy said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, borrowing a phrase frequently used by former President Trump and his followers.

“If Hunter Biden has broken the law, he should be held accountable for it. I don’t think he’s being treated any differently than anyone else who’s been accused of the crimes that he’s been accused of,” Murphy added.

Murphy’s comments come after Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, saw a plea deal stall this week after the judge presiding over the case questioned the parameters of the plea agreement with the Justice Department involving tax and gun charges. 

House Republicans have also been investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings overseas, but the White House has maintained President Biden had no connection to any of the business dealings from when he was vice president. Murphy further dismissed a question on whether he was concerned about any apparent shift in the White House’s tone, when asked about the White House now saying President Biden “was not in business with his son,” when before he said they “never spoke about it.”

“He’s had a lot of trouble in his life. And Joe Biden has been open about it and I think has shown, as any caring father would, a lot of concern to try to help Hunter Biden recover,” Murphy said. 

“But there has never been any evidence that Joe Biden has compromised his office. In fact, the very opposite. The evidence around the allegations Republicans have made about Hunter Biden’s involvement in Ukraine suggests that Joe Biden was working to root out corruption in Ukraine as he consistently did as vice president, and I think those facts will continue to come out,” Murphy added.