Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives for a closed-door deposition before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and House Judiciary Committee in the O’Neill House Office Building on February 28, 2024 in Washington, DC. The meeting is part of the Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Samuel Corum | Getty Images
The co-chairman 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 Biden.
“Out of the Shadows: My Life Inside the Wild World of Hunter Biden” is 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 contesting Roberts’ paternity lawsuit, Biden in 2020 agreed to pay child support for his daughter with Roberts, after a DNA test confirmed the child was his.
Roberts’ memoir will be 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 top super PAC backing the independent presidential candidate’s White House bid.
So far this cycle, AV24 has raised $49.6 million and spent $29.2 million, according to data from the nonpartisan OpenSecrets. Skyhorse Publishing has donated $154,920 to the PAC during the same period.
Skyhorse has also published several books by Kennedy, which have promoted 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 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. An attorney for Biden also did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment on the book.
Kennedy is running for president on an independent ticket, facing Biden and likely Republican nominee Donald Trump. Recent NBC News polls show Kennedy garnering between 10% and 15% of the popular vote nationally.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addresses the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington, U.S., May 24, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Allies of both Biden’s and Trump’s presidential campaigns have made Kennedy out to be an unacceptable choice to their supporters. But polls are mixed on who Kennedy’s candidacy would likely hurt more, if he were to carry it all the way to November.
Judging by the promotional blurbs, “Out of the Shadows” will paint a negative picture of the Biden family.
But there are few signs so far that a personal memoir about a brief relationship with Hunter Biden would be capable of significantly affecting the elder Biden’s reelection campaign. Hunter Biden’s business dealings, career and struggle with addiction have fueled conspiracy theories on right-wing media for nearly a decade.
The Aug. 20 release date of Roberts’ memoir appears timed to capitalize on some of Hunter Biden’s troubles.
The attorney-turned-artist will be tried on federal gun charges beginning June 3. Biden is facing three criminal counts in the case, related to his purchase of a firearm.
He has also been charged with tax evasion, with a trial set to begin Sept. 5, a little over two weeks after Roberts’ book hits the shelves.
Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty in both cases.