Washington (CNN) Former Vice President Joe Biden offered a forceful defense of his son during Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate, saying voters should focus on President Donald Trump's "corruption" instead of Hunter Biden's previous work in Ukraine.

"My son did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong," Biden said during the debate hosted by CNN and The New York Times. "I carried out the policy of the United States government in rooting out corruption in -- in Ukraine. And that's what we should be focusing on."

Biden's comments came in response to a question from CNN's Anderson Cooper about whether it was appropriate for his son to have served on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company, while he was in charge of Ukraine policy in the Obama administration. President Donald Trump, his attorney Rudy Giuliani and his Republican allies have used Hunter Biden's foreign business ties to characterize the Bidens as corrupt, despite there being no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden in Ukraine.

Biden pointed to an interview released earlier Tuesday that his son gave to ABC, saying Hunter Biden's response "speaks for itself."

"My son's statement speaks for itself. What I think is important is we focus on why it's so important to remove this man (Trump) from office," the former vice president said.

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