Hunter Biden says democracy is at stake in his battle to stay sober

In a rare interview, Hunter Biden said his battle to stay sober is unique because failure would be used as a political cudgel as his father seeks a second term as US president.

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“Most importantly, you have to believe that you’re worth the work, or you’ll never be able to get sober,” Joe Biden’s son told Axios on Monday. “But I often do think of the profound consequences of failure here.

“Maybe it’s the ultimate test for a recovering addict – I don’t know. I have always been in awe of people who have stayed clean and sober through tragedies and obstacles few people ever face. They are my heroes, my inspiration.

“I have something much bigger than even myself at stake. We are in the middle of a fight for the future of democracy.”

Joe Biden is set to face Donald Trump in November in a rematch of the 2020 election. Hunter Biden, 54, became embroiled in that first contest amid Republican attempts to capitalise on his personal struggles and tangled business affairs, particularly in relation to Burisma, an energy company in Ukraine.

As the 2024 election approaches, Republicans are still using Hunter Biden and Burisma as political weapons, alleging corruption as they seek to impeach the president, notwithstanding the indictment for lying of a key source also linked to Russian intelligence.

That effort is in large part motivated by a desire for revenge for Democrats’ first impeachment of Donald Trump, which focused on attempts to extract dirt on the Bidens from the Ukrainian government.

On Wednesday, Hunter Biden is due to sit for a closed-door interview with the House oversight and judiciary committees.

The same panels last week interviewed James Biden, the president’s younger brother. Coupled with charges and revelations concerning Alexander Smirnov, the FBI informant behind allegations against the Bidens trumpeted by senior Republicans, the James Biden interview was widely held not to have advanced the GOP’s case.

Joe Biden’s surviving son, after the death of the former Delaware attorney general Beau Biden in 2015, Hunter Biden has previously publicly discussed his struggles with grief and addiction, not least in Beautiful Things, a memoir published in 2021.

Facing tax- and gun-related felony charges, Hunter Biden has sworn in federal court that he has not used alcohol or drugs since 1 June 2019. Axios said a representative said Biden continued to test negative for alcohol or drugs.

Jonathan Turley, a conservative law professor who has appeared as a witness for Republicans pursuing impeachment, said the Axios interview had “powerful moments as Hunter describes his struggle with addiction and the pressure that he feels to stay sober in light of the election”.

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But, Turley said, “it would not be surprising if this interview finds its way into filings by the government as the court considers defence pre-trial motions” in Biden’s felony firearms case, in which he is accused of lying about drug use when buying a firearm.

Biden said he felt “a responsibility to everyone struggling through their own recovery to succeed” with his attempt to stay sober.

“I don’t care whether you’re 10 years sober, two years sober, two months sober or 200 years sober – your brain at some level is always telling you there’s still one answer.

“Embrace the state in which you came into recovery, which is that feeling of hopelessness which forces you into a choice. And then understand that what is required is that you basically have to change everything.”