Trump brazenly asks Putin to release dirt about Biden’s family

It’s not clear that any material exists, or if the Kremlin has access to it.

“I would think Putin would know the answer to that,” Mr Trump said, referring to Hunter Biden’s potential dealings in Russia.

“I think he should release it. I think we should know that answer.”

It is true that Hunter Biden was paid handsomely for consulting work he did in foreign countries, including Ukraine and China, while his father — President Joe Biden — was vice president.

The Justice Department has an ongoing criminal investigation into these dealings and potential financial crimes.

But no evidence has emerged to support Mr Trump’s claims that the Bidens engaged in corruption or influenced US policy for personal gain, and the President hasn’t been implicated in the probe.

Hunter Biden has denied wrongdoing and says he’ll be cleared when the criminal probe is over.

It was the start of a years-long effort by Mr Trump to raise his political prospects with foreign help.

The Trump campaign in 2016 also embraced and capitalised on Russia’s election-meddling operation against Ms Clinton.

For instance, the campaign regularly played up Democratic emails that were hacked and leaked by the Russian military, and members of Mr Trump’s inner circle also met during the campaign with a Russian agent who promised dirt on Ms Clinton.

This incident led to Mr Trump’s first impeachment.

And during the 2020 campaign, some of Mr Trump’s top allies collaborated with a known Russian spy to peddle disinformation about Mr Biden and his family, including some of the same claims of corruption that Mr Trump mentioned in the new interview.

The clip of Mr Trump asking Mr Putin for help was published by a news website founded by John Solomon, a pro-Trump journalist whose previous coverage about the Bidens’ ties to Ukraine has been discredited.

He told CNN that the interview was taped on Monday at Mar-a-Lago.