Pence calls on Biden to 'come forward and come clean' with answers on son Hunter's scandal

Vice President Mike Pence called on his predecessor, Joe Biden, to be frank and honest with the American people Friday about whether he was involved in or benefited from his son Hunter's overseas business interests.

The American people have a right to know what Joe Biden and his family have been up to," the vice president told Fox News' "Hannity" in an exclusive interview.

Pence added that he believed the scandal is becoming an issue with many voters after "President Trump took the case directly to the American people" in Thursday night's second and final presidential debate. 

The vice president added that it had been "astonishing" to watch the mainstream media largely ignore the scandal after three years of breathless coverage of the Russia investigation and Trump's impeachment by the House of Representatives.

"Suddenly the media has lost any interest whatsoever in ... foreign efforts to influence people in American politics," Pence said.

"Joe Biden needs to come forward and come clean about what was going on when he was running the U.S. efforts in Ukraine. I mean, he basically managed the [Obama administration's foreign policy] effort in the Ukraine.

He pointed to a widely-circulated video made in January 2018 of Biden openly joking to the Council on Foreign Relations that he ensured the dismissal of Ukrainian state prosecutor Viktor Shokin by threatening to withhold $1 billion in American aid to the Kiev government.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Joe Biden has got to step up, come clean," reiterated Pence, who went on to accuse House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., of spreading "nonsense" about the scandal being a Russian disinformation campaign.

"[That idea] has been completely rebutted by our intelligence community," he said. "That laptop, the emails are not an effort -- as Adam Schiff said -- from the Kremlin."