Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) revived her role from President Trump’s impeachment trial in a speech at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, using the address to attack Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
Bondi used her speech on the second night of the convention to lob a series of attacks at the Bidens, accusing them of nepotism when Joe Biden served as vice president in the Obama administration and seeking to turn his campaign plan to “Build Back Better” against the candidate.
“We all know about Joe’s son Hunter Biden,” she said. “A corrupt Ukrainian oligarch put Hunter on the board of his gas company, even though he had no experience in the country or in the energy sector. None. Yet he was paid millions to do nothing.”
Bondi went on to claim that the Obama administration began to work with the energy company as its board was being investigated by a Ukrainian prosecutor and that U.S. officials threatened to withhold aid unless the prosecutor was fired.
She then accused Hunter Biden of meeting with Chinese bankers who approved millions in funds for his firm while his father was in office.
“Talk to the folks in middle America who lost countless jobs to China while your son was getting rich with them,” Bondi said. “Joe says we’ll build back better. Yeah, build the Bidens back better.”
Bondi used a similar line of attack earlier this year when she represented Trump during his impeachment trial in the Senate. Trump was ultimately acquitted by the GOP-led chamber on two articles of impeachment.
Trump and his allies have repeatedly targeted Hunter Biden’s time on the board of Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy company, raising the issue during the impeachment trial and into the general election.
Both Bidens have denied they ever discussed the dealings while Joe Biden was in office, and the claims against them have not been proved. Still, Republicans have worked to paint Hunter Biden’s business deals abroad as corrupt.
Trump’s reelection campaign rolled out an attack ad, part of a seven-figure digital advertising buy, against Hunter Biden last Thursday, overlaying remarks from news anchors discussing questions over his business transactions.
Democrats, meanwhile, have hit Trump on the topic of nepotism, citing his daughter Ivanka Trump’s and son-in-law Jared Kushner’s roles in the White House.