For months throughout the 2020 campaign, the right breathlessly covered the supposed corruption of then-candidate Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.
Former President Donald Trump's pressure on the Ukrainian President to investigate the Biden's resulted in his first impeachment. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani insisted that the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop were disqualifying for Joe Biden's candidacy.
But few far-right media personalities peddled the story more than Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Carlson claimed to have damning evidence regarding the Bidens, but said it got lost in the mail. He interviewed Hunter Biden's former business partner, Tony Bobulinski, whose claims that Joe Biden let his son improperly influence the White House were debunked by a reporter for Carlson's own network. Carlson also promoted photos claiming the Bidens golfed with a Ukrainian gas company executive in 2014.
Also in 2014, Hunter Biden was corresponding with someone else of note: Tucker Carlson.
QAnon conspiracy theorist Lin Wood released an email exchange allegedly between Carlson and Hunter Biden, as part of an ongoing feud between Wood and a wide array of notable conservative figures.
Reposting with more redaction: Lin Wood doxxed both Hunter Biden and Tucker Carlson's contact info as of 2014. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/kL8FCGVkFj
— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) December 3, 2021
Carlson wrote to Biden in an email:
“I can't thank you enough for writing that letter to Georgetown on [Carlson's son] Buckley's behalf. So nice of you. I know it'll help. Hope you're great and we can all get dinner soon.”
After Biden responded asking for a copy of Carlson's son's CV, Carlson replied:
"Of course. Getting on a plane now but I'll ask Susie to send it right away. Thanks again. It's really nice of you to do this."
Carlson's breathless gratitude for Biden was hilariously at odds with the characterization Carlson promoted in service to Trump.
Tucker Carlson asking in 2014 for a Georgetown recommendation for his son Buckley from one Hunter Biden (‘92) is pretty funny. https://t.co/sGasG4NVmD
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) December 3, 2021
I said and written this a hundred times: Tucker is purely performative. https://t.co/iEwmx6JH7V
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 3, 2021
Don’t know if this is true, but @tuckercarlson should have to answer this. He’s a public figure who rails all the time about holding people accountable even on stories he knows not to be true. https://t.co/wyB3g7bd97
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) December 3, 2021
.@TuckerCarlson: The ELITES want to keep you out of their club.
ALSO TUCKER CARLSON: Hey Hunter Biden! What up, my man?? Can you do me a solid and help get my son into Georgetown? https://t.co/C39yj9zoTe
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) December 3, 2021
Tucker asking Hunter for a letter of recommendation for his son Buckley is ummm pretty funny. https://t.co/4YJyn7j1cH
— Cody Johnston (@drmistercody) December 3, 2021
Stand by for Tucker to claim he was the last person on earth to know about Hunter’s demons circa 2014. https://t.co/B0AEkoKojE
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) December 3, 2021
The mockery was swift.
So @TuckerCarlson asked for a favor from Hunter Biden. By the transitive property, Tucker is a Chinese asset hiding laptops full of secret Ukrainian deals. https://t.co/y3I8N6VEUc
— Reed Galen (@reedgalen) December 3, 2021
everything else aside, I can't get over how rude it is to name your son Buckley Carlson https://t.co/XfEX2a454x
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) December 3, 2021
before Tucker totally positively stopped being part of the elite https://t.co/muO9MU4tXq
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) December 3, 2021
Carlson has yet to comment on the matter.