By Brian Trusdell
More than half of likely voters believe news media outlets ignored a report in October that Hunter Biden’s laptop computer was found to have emails incriminating him and his father in illicit foreign business deals and potential influence peddling to help the elder Biden’s presidential campaign, a Rasmussen poll released Tuesday found.
Fifty-two percent believed the story was buried so as to not damage Joe Biden’s presidential aspirations, 32% say it was ignored because it was a “partisan hit job,” and 17% were not sure.
Fifty-six percent believe it is likely the elder Biden was consulted and perhaps profited from his son’s business dealings in Ukraine and China, including 43% who believe it is very likely. That outnumbers the people surveyed who believe the connection is unlikely 38%, and 22% who consider it very unlikely.
The poll was taken Monday and Tuesday among a national survey of 1,000 likely voters, less than a week after Hunter Biden acknowledged the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware was investigating is tax filings.
That admission came nearly two months after the New York Post first revealed the laptop, left for repairs at a Delaware computer shop, contained emails indicating Hunter Biden introduced his father to a senior official at a Ukrainian energy company, contradicting Joe Biden’s claim he never spoke to his son about his business dealings.
The emails also show the company official asked Hunter Biden about ways “you could use your influence” on energy concern’s behalf.
Twitter blocked any posts that included the story, claiming it violated the company’s hacking policy, and Facebook similarly slowed spread of the story.
A July Rasmussen survey showed 75% of Republicans and 47% of non-affiliated voters believed media outlets would aid Biden in the campaign. Only 29% of Democrats agreed.
The most recent poll said 70% of likely voters have been following the Hunter Biden story closely, 38% very closely. Of those closely following the story, 76% said news media organizations deliberately ignored the story before election day to assist Joe Biden, and 72% said he likely profited from his son’s overseas involvements.
