Gavin Newsom defends Hunter Biden's business deals, says family influence peddling is 'hardly unique'

 California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, defended Hunter Biden's business deals in an interview during which he said family influence peddling was "hardly unique."

Newsom made the comments in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN Monday when she asked him about Republicans hounding the president about his son's business dealings. 

"One of the things that Republicans are relentless on, of course, is Hunter Biden," said Bash.

"There is no evidence that Joe Biden benefited from anything that Hunter was doing," she claimed, "but Republicans have shown that Hunter Biden ... tried to leverage his father's name and that the president allegedly, before he was president, joined phone calls that Hunter Biden's business associates were on. Do you see anything inappropriate there?"

"I don't know enough about the details of that. I mean, I've seen a little of that," Newsom replied.

"If that's the new criteria, there are a lot of folks in a lot of industries — not just in politics — where people have family members and relationships and they're trying to parlay and get a little influence and benefit in that respect. That's hardly unique," he added. 

"I don't love that any more than you love it or other people, I imagine, love that. We want to see a lot less of that. But an impeachment inquiry? Give me a break," he concluded. 

Newsom went on to blast Republicans for the government shutdown that may result from Democrats and Republicans failing to come to an agreement on how to raise the debt ceiling.

"This is a joke. Ready, fire, aim. I mean, this is a perversity that the Founding Fathers never conceived of and imagined," said Newsom. "So, if that’s the best they can do, give me a break. That’s about public opinion."

Republicans have lambasted President Joe Biden with the evidence that he helped his son enrich himself by selling access to his father. Biden at first denied ever having any involvement with his son's business dealings, but more and more evidence has been contradicting that claim.

Here's video of Newsom defending Hunter Biden: