Hunter Biden recounts personal troubles, drug addiction in wide-ranging CBS interview

Hunter Biden, the president's son, said he expects to be exonerated after the U.S. Justice Department concludes an inquiry into his finances, in a wide-ranging interview that aired Sunday morning and also touched on his drug addiction and long-running personal troubles.

The son of President Joe Biden appeared on the "CBS Sunday Morning" news program to promote a new memoir, "Beautiful Things," in which he talks about his addiction to crack cocaine, his recovery, and his relationship with his father.

He said in the interview that he is "cooperating completely" with a federal probe centered on his tax dealings. The inquiry became public in December and had been underway for two years.

"I'm absolutely certain, 100% certain, that at the end of the investigation, that I will be cleared of any wrongdoing. I'm 100% certain of it," he said.

Biden, 51, also addressed controversies that have tarred his reputation over the years, including his role on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, while his father was vice president.

"I don't think I made a mistake in taking a spot on the board," he told interviewer Tracy Smith. "I think I made a mistake in terms of underestimating the way in which it may be used against me."

Hunter Biden said he speaks to his father every night and recalled a time when the then sitting vice president recognized his son was abusing drugs and intervened.

"He came to my apartment one time, and this is when he was still in office as vice president. And so he kind of ditched his Secret Service, figured out a way to get over to the house, and I said, 'What are you doing here?' He said, 'Honey, what you doing?' I said, 'Dad, I'm fine.' He said, 'You're not fine.'"

Hunter Biden got help in rehab but soon afterward was struggling again, desperate for illegal substances to smoke.

"I spent more time on my hands and knees picking through rugs, smoking anything that remotely resembled crack cocaine. I probably smoked more Parmesan cheese than anyone you know..." he said.

Biden also addressed his romantic relationship with Hallie Biden, the widow of his brother Beau. His brother died of a brain tumor in 2015.

"It came out of a real overwhelming grief that we both shared, and we were together and trying to do the right thing, and that grief turned into a hope for a love that maybe could replace what we lost," Hunter Biden said. "And it didn't work."

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.