The son of 2020 hopeful Joe Biden has been at the centre of an impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Hunter Biden, acknowledging that his family name created business opportunities, rejected assertions by US President Donald Trump that he did anything wrong by engaging in foreign work in Ukraine and China.

But Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, conceded that he failed to take into account potential implications for his father’s political career.

“Did I make a mistake? Maybe in the grand scheme of things,” Hunter Biden said in an ABC News interview that aired on Tuesday. “But did I make a mistake based on some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.”

Joe Biden is a frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, and the interview with his son aired hours before the fourth Democratic presidential debate.

Hunter Biden said he did not discuss his foreign business dealings with his father. He served on the board of an energy company in Ukraine, a fact he said his father learned from press reports.

The younger Biden was a lawyer at a top Washington, DC, law firm with expertise in corporate governance. But he acknowledged on Tuesday that he probably would not have been asked to serve on the board if not for his name.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn’t Biden,” he said.

Baseless claims

Trump and his Republican allies have targeted Hunter Biden for his work in Ukraine and China, making baseless claims of corruption.

Trump’s July 25 phone call pressuring Ukraine’s leader to investigate the Bidens is the focus of a whistle-blower complaint that triggered the formal House impeachment inquiry into Trump. Trump has denied wrongdoing.

Hours after Hunter Biden’s interview aired, Trump said in a tweet that the former vice president’s son was “really bad” in the ABC interview and that “Sleepy Joe has real problems”.

Hunter Biden recently said he would step down from the board of directors of a Chinese-backed private equity firm because his service had become a “distraction”.

“That’s why I have committed that I won’t serve on any board or work on any foreign entities when Dad becomes president,” he said. “That’s the rule I’m going to adhere to.”

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