Hunter Biden accuses Republicans of weaponizing his drug addiction in rare op-ed

WASHINGTON - Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, accuses Republicans of weaponizing his drug addiction for political gain in a candid USA TODAY op-ed Thursday that strikes back at his accusers.

In a rare first-hand account amid his legal troubles, Hunter Biden says his well-documented struggle with addiction has been the "fodder for a vile and sustained disinformation campaign" against his father and "an all-out annihilation of my reputation."

Hunter Biden points to House Republicans' "high-pitched but fruitless" investigations - the basis of impeachment efforts targeting his father. He also says the federal gun charges he faces "appear to be the first-ever of their kind brought in the history of Delaware."

The op-ed continues an aggressive legal and public-relations strategy that Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's lead attorney hired in December, adopted after Republicans gained control of the House and promised to make Hunter Biden the focus of investigations.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty last month in Delaware federal court to three charges related to his 2018 purchase of a gun. He is accused of falsely filling out a federal firearms form denying he was addicted to any narcotics. He remains the subject of a special counsel investigation by the Justice Department for failing to pay taxes and not registering as a foreign agent while working with companies in Ukraine and China.

The op-ed does not address Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings, which House Republicans have made the subject of a potential impeachment inquiry.

Hunter Biden writes he is "not a victim" and that he "grew up with privilege and opportunity." He also says he takes full responsibility for his "choices and mistakes."

"What troubles me is the demonization of addiction, of human frailty, using me as its avatar and the devastating consequences it has for the millions struggling with addiction," he says, singling out the coverage of conservative-leaning Fox News and the New York Post about him.

He goes on to push back at comments this month from a Fox News host suggesting his new buzz haircut could be a strategy for him to beat drug testing and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., displaying "revenge porn of me" during a recent congressional hearing.

"The weaponization of my addiction by partisan and craven factions represent a real threat to those desperate to get sober but afraid of what may await them if they do," he writes.

In September, Hunter Biden sued Rudy Giuliani over the release of personal material from his laptop, the Internal Revenue Service for allegedly revealing confidential information about his taxes and former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler for allegedly accessing and tampering with computer data that he does not own.

Hunter Biden's legal team also issued third-party subpoenas to Donald Trump allies Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and Giuliani, along with six others, in recent weeks seeking information and documents related to Hunter Biden's external hard drive and laptop – contents of which each have boasted about possessing.

As for impeachment efforts, Republicans have accused President Joe Biden of benefiting financially from foreign business dealings of Hunter Biden in exchange for steering U.S. foreign policy.

But three witnesses, invited by Republicans during a House committee hearing in September on whether to open up an impeachment inquiry, each testified there lacks evidence of a bribery scheme implicating the president that would constitute an impeachable offense.

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly known as Twitter, @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden accuses Republicans of weaponizing his drug addiction