9:43 p.m. ET, October 10, 2019
Trump goes after the Bidens at Minneapolis rally
From CNN's Betsy Klein
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
President Trump devoted at least 20 minutes at his Minneapolis rally to railing against the Democrats, the impeachment inquiry, and the Bidens.
His attacks against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, became personal.
Trump complained about press coverage that says the accusations against the Bidens are "unsubstantiated." There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.
He outlined a mock interview between Hunter Biden and "sleepy eyes Chuck Todd." Trump also complained about
Hunter Biden's deal with the Chinese.
He then went off — presumably unscripted — on Hunter Biden.
"Hunter, you know nothing about energy, you know nothing about China, you know nothing about anything, frankly. Why did you get $1.5 billion Hunter?" Trump said.
He continued: "And your father was never considered smart, he was never considered a good senator, he was only a good vice president because he understood how to kiss Barack Obama's ass."
Here's what we know: A company, whose board Hunter Biden sat on, received a large investment of Chinese capital shortly after Hunter Biden visited the country with his father.
According to the New York Times, Biden's son Hunter has a 10% interest in BHR Partners, a private-equity fund that the Chinese government-owned Bank of China has invested in. As of May 2019, both The New York Times and the Washington Post reported that Hunter
had not received any money from the fund or in connection with his role as an unpaid advisory board member.
In July 2019, more than two years after his father left office, Hunter purchased an equity stake in the BHR fund, valued around $430,000,
according to the Washington Post.
After Trump's meeting with Zelensky at the United Nations, one of Hunter's lawyers
told the Washington Post that, "To date, Mr. Biden has not received any return or compensation on account of this investment or his position on the board of directors."
The characterization of Mr. Biden as owning a $1.5 billion private equity firm funded by the Chinese, or suggesting that Mr. Biden has earned millions of dollars from the firm is a gross misrepresentation of Mr. Biden's role with BHR."