Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives for closed-door testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Judiciary Committee at the O’Neill House Office Building in Washington, DC. The meeting is part of the Republican impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Samuel Corum | Getty Images
The co-chair of a super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign announced plans Tuesday to publish a tell-all memoir this summer by an Arkansas woman who had a child with Hunter Biden, the youngest son of President Joe, shares Biden.
“Out of the Shadows: My Life Inside the Wild World of Hunter Biden” was written by Lunden Roberts, who gave birth to Hunter Biden’s daughter in 2018.
Biden – who has a long history of drug and alcohol addiction – wrote in his own 2021 memoir that he had “no recollection” of his encounter with Roberts. After initially challenging Roberts’ paternity suit, Biden in 2020 agreed to join Roberts in paying child support for his daughter after a DNA test confirmed the child was his.
Roberts’ memoir is published by Skyhorse Publishing, a company whose president, Tony Lyons, is a co-founder of the pro-Kennedy super PAC American Values 2024. The group, known as AV24, is the leading super PAC supporting the independent presidential candidate’s bid for the White House.
According to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets, AV24 has raised $49.6 million and spent $29.2 million so far this cycle. Skyhorse Publishing donated $154,920 to the PAC during the same period.
Skyhorse has also published several of Kennedy’s books that promote conspiracy theories about public health, vaccines and, more recently, COVID-19.
Skyhorse has also published works by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and former President Donald Trump.
Lyons said in a press release that Roberts’ memoir “contains revelations that could well impact the outcome of the 2024 election.”
Lyons did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A lawyer for Biden also did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the book.
Kennedy is running for president as an independent candidate, facing Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Recent NBC News polls show Kennedy with between 10 and 15 percent of the vote nationally.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian Party National Convention in Washington, USA on May 24, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Allies of Biden and Trump’s presidential campaigns have sought to portray Kennedy as an unacceptable choice to their supporters.
But polls are divided over who would be more likely to be hurt by Kennedy’s candidacy, Biden or Trump, if he held out until November.
Judging by the advertising copy, “Out of the Shadows” will paint a negative picture of the Biden family.
But there is little evidence so far that a personal recollection of a brief relationship with Hunter Biden could significantly impact the elder Biden’s re-election campaign. Hunter Biden’s business dealings, career and battle with addiction have fueled conspiracy theories in right-wing media for nearly a decade.
The August 20 release date of Roberts’ memoir seems poised to exploit some of Hunter Biden’s problems.
The lawyer-turned-artist will go on trial starting June 3 on federal firearms charges. Biden faces three felony charges in the case related to the purchase of a firearm.
Biden has also been charged with tax evasion, and his trial is scheduled to begin on September 5, just over two weeks after Roberts’ book hits shelves.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to both counts.
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2024-05-28 21:11:37
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