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- Trump told a conservative journalist that he’s urging Putin to release information on Hunter Biden.
- Trump was discussing a GOP-led investigation ahead of the 2020 election into the Bidens that produced very few new findings.
- Trump has previously called on Russia to dig up information on his political opponents.
Former President Donald Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to share information and documents surrounding Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son.
Trump’s comments were made during an interview released Tuesday with far-right journalist John Solomon on Real America’s Voice network, which took place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
The former president was discussing a GOP-led investigation ahead of the 2020 election into the Bidens by Senate Republicans that produced very few new findings.
The report alleged that in 2014 a firm tied to Hunter Biden received $3.5 million from a Russian businesswoman and the wife of the late mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov.
“She gave him $3.5 million so now I would think Putin would know the answer to that,” Trump said in the interview. “I think he should release it. I think we should know that answer.”
Hunter Biden’s attorney, George Mesires, has denied the claim. A CNN fact check of the claim has resolved that it “needs context,” saying that no evidence of wrongdoing on Biden’s part has been provided.
Hunter Biden’s attorney did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Hunter Biden has been an ongoing subject of controversy. He remains under investigation by the Justice Department, which is scrutinizing his taxes and his foreign business dealings during his father’s tenure as vice president, according to The New York Times.
He has also been a subject of interest for Trump, who was impeached in 2019 and charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after he tried to strong-arm Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into investigating Hunter Biden’s role on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, while withholding congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine, which was fighting Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region at the time.
The GOP-controlled Senate later voted to acquit Trump.
Trump has also previously — and publicly — called for Russia to release information about political rivals.
During the presidential election in July 2016, then-candidate Trump called on Russian hackers to find Hillary Clinton’s emails during a press conference.
“Russia, if you’re listening — I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” he said. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens.”
Trump later claimed that the comment was made in jest.
The former president has recently faced scrutiny after he called Putin a “genius” and “savvy” during the days before Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its 35th day. Following the invasion, Trump walked backed the comments and condemned Russia.
The White House and former President Trump did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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