The co-chairman of a super PAC supporting Robert F Kennedy Jr will publish a memoir by Lunden Roberts, who had a child with Hunter Biden in 2018.
Skyhorse Publishing will release Out of the Shadows: My Life Inside the Wild World of Hunter Biden by Ms Roberts on 20 August.
In a short excerpt, Ms Roberts writes that Hunter Biden “was sitting there wearing nothing but parrot boxer briefs, organizing his pipes on his Rosemont Seneca desk”.
Mr Biden was the chief executive officer and chair of the investment advisory firm Rosemont Seneca Advisors.
She adds: “I was sitting in Barack Obama’s actual chair from the Senate floor. I took another look at Hunter – this kind, intense, and startlingly transparent man – and thought, ‘this is definitely a guy I want to get to know better’.”
The page for Ms Lunden’s memoir on the publisher’s site states that this is a description of the first time she met Mr Biden after she had moved to Washington DC from Arkansas “in an impulsive decision to apply for a grad program”.
The publisher states that the book follows the “rollercoaster ride of a relationship, touching on the drug cook working in Rosemont Seneca’s kitchen, strip clubs where Hunter might try the pole himself,” as well as “protecting him from would-be terrorists in New York City”.
The president of Skyhorse Publishing, Tony Lyons, announced the plans on Tuesday. He’s also the co-founder of American Values 2024, the largest super PAC supporting Mr Kennedy, the independent candidate, environmental lawyer, and conspiracy theorist.
In his 2021 memoir, in which he also detailed his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, Mr Biden said he has no memory of the interaction with Ms Roberts.
Hunter Biden settled a child support case with Ms Roberts last summer, which began as a paternity dispute in 2019. After a DNA test confirmed him as the father, he agreed to pay $20,000 a month in 2020. He sought to reduce those payments last year, but the new amount was redacted in the 2023 filing in Arkansas state court.
This cycle, American Values 2024 has raised nearly $50m and has spent more than $29m, data from OpenSecrets shows. During the same period, Skyhorse Publishing has donated $154,920 to the PAC.
Mr Kennedy receives almost 10 percent in FiveThirtyEight’s average of national polls and could become the strongest third-party candidate since Ross Perot ran in 1992 and 1996.
Both Mr Biden and Mr Trump have bashed Mr Kennedy, worried that he may take more votes from their side, but polls are mixed on the matter.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Lyons said: “Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish Lunden Roberts’ important and compelling narrative. It comes at a pivotal moment in history where freedom of speech is still cherished but constantly challenged.”
He added: “Roberts courageously shares her story, offering readers a poignant reflection on personal responsibility and the burden of a life lived in the public eye – as well as revelations that could well impact the outcome of the 2024 election. We are proud to stand behind Lunden Roberts and her book.”
Skyhorse Publishing has published books by several conservative figures, such as Unwoke by Senator Ted Cruz in which he bashes “cultural Marxism,” as well as books by Senator Rand Paul and Mr Kennedy going after the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci.
The company has published several books by Mr Kennedy pushing conspiracy theories regarding public health, vaccines, and Covid-19. It has also published works by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and former president Donald Trump.
Mr Lyons told CNBC that his company takes “the strongest possible stance against all forms of censorship,” adding that Skyhorse has published a book by Christine Pelosi, the daughter of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in addition to a book about burn pits that included a blurb by President Joe Biden.
The president believes that the use of burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan led to the brain cancer that took the life of his son Beau Biden.
It’s unclear if the memoir will have any effect on the presidential race – Hunter Biden was the subject of conspiracy theories in right-wing media for years before his father became president.
Meanwhile, Hunter Biden faces a 3 June trial on federal gun charges in Delaware and a 5 September trial on tax evasion in California, pleading not guilty in both cases.
The Independent has contacted a spokesperson for Hunter Biden for comment.
