U.S. Republican seeks first subpoena in Hunter Biden probe

By David Morgan

 

FILE PHOTO: Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ron Johnson (D-WI) questions Kirstjen Nielsen (unseen) on her nomination to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington, U.S., November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Days after Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden scored a major win at his party's primary in South Carolina, a Republican U.S. senator is seeking the first subpoena in a probe of his son Hunter Biden's role at Ukraine gas company Burisma.

 

As Joe Biden's campaign picked up steam ahead of crucial Super Tuesday primaries on Tuesday, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson told panel members that he will call a meeting to consider subpoenaing documents related to Hunter Biden's seat on Burisma's board, according to a letter from Johnson obtained by Reuters.

 

The younger Biden's position with Burisma while his father was the U.S. vice president has been attacked as corrupt by President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in the U.S. Congress. No evidence has been given to back up the accusation.

 

Trump was impeached on abuse of power and obstruction charges in the Democratic-led House of Representatives after he asked Ukraine to investigate the Bidens last July. Democrats said he was trying to shore up his reelection prospects by targeting a leading candidate in the Democratic race to oppose him on Nov. 3. Trump was later acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.

 

On Monday, Democrats warned that the committee investigation could aid disinformation efforts by Russia and other actors.

 

Intelligence officials have told lawmakers Russia appears to be engaging in disinformation and propaganda campaigns to help both Trump and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, congressional sources say.

 

"We need to take every step to ensure the credibility and resources of the U.S. Senate are not used to advance interference efforts by foreign adversaries that seek to undermine our democracy or put our national security at risk," Senator Gary Peters, the top Democrat on Johnson's committee, said in a statement.

 

Johnson and Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, are investigating whether Hunter Biden's role at Burisma posed a conflict of interest while his father was in the White House. News of their interest surfaced last year as the impeachment probe gained momentum in the House.

 

Johnson told committee members in the letter that he plans to subpoena documents and an interview from Andrii Telizhenko, a former Ukrainian diplomat and consultant for Blue Star Strategies, a lobbying and consulting firm.

 

Johnson said Blue Star represented Burisma and sought to leverage Hunter Biden's position in an effort to make inroads with the U.S. State Department.

Johnson's letter was dated March 1, a day after Biden's victory in South Carolina on Saturday.

 

Blue Star Strategies did not respond to a Reuters query seeking comment.

 

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-03

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

The timing starts to be good. If they drag their feet long enough, they may be able to delay the outcome until after elections.

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by candide

Just ignore any subpoena.

 

Why is hunter biden so important to investigate.

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by Sujo

Well there were always going to be ramifications from the botched impeachment saga. Having the Bidens dirty laundry hung out at such a critical time was clearly a massive own goal by the democrats. And here we are. The Hunter gets captured by the game. 

2 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Well there were always going to be ramifications from the botched impeachment saga. Having the Bidens dirty laundry hung out at such a critical time was clearly a massive own goal by the democrats. And here we are. The Hunter gets captured by the game. 

In case you did not notice, the impeachment process started exactly for this reason: Trump trying to discredit Biden. So there is nothing new, Trump started to discredit Biden before being impeached, and the Republicans go on with it.

11 minutes ago, candide said:

In case you did not notice, the impeachment process started exactly for this reason: Trump trying to discredit Biden. So there is nothing new, Trump started to discredit Biden before being impeached, and the Republicans go on with it.

That is your opinion. I would argue that the impeachment process started with the Bidens corruption overseas in Ukraine and involved his son Hunter landing a job he was unqualified for, but only got it through and because of his father Joe. Trump then rightly started investigating it, and that appalling video "son of a bleep he got fired" came out then it was a lot of backpedaling and clumsy attempts to claim Biden was exonerated and cleared (false). So we have a chicken and egg conundrum. We will have to let the courts decide who is right and wrong. Still, this is dreadful timing for Joe.

6 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

That is your opinion. I would argue that the impeachment process started with the Bidens corruption overseas in Ukraine and involved his son Hunter landing a job he was unqualified for, but only got it through and because of his father Joe. Trump then rightly started investigating it, and that appalling video "son of a bleep he got fired" came out then it was a lot of backpedaling and clumsy attempts to claim Biden was exonerated and cleared (false).

Maybe you should take off your partisan glasses and read the article in full, especially the line "No evidence has been given to back up the accusation." Claiming corruption by the Bidens is a fact, when it has no evidence to back it up is simply slander, a gutter level tactic used by your revered leader continuously.

10 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

That is your opinion. I would argue that the impeachment process started with the Bidens corruption overseas in Ukraine and involved his son Hunter landing a job he was unqualified for, but only got it through and because of his father Joe. Trump then rightly started investigating it, and that appalling video "son of a bleep he got fired" came out then it was a lot of backpedaling and clumsy attempts to claim Biden was exonerated and cleared (false). So we have a chicken and egg conundrum. We will have to let the courts decide who is right and wrong. Still, this is dreadful timing for Joe.

There was no official investigation. How many times should we tell you before you understand.

Oh...good!

Now they start another (insert number here) attempts to prove something, that doesn't exist, like they did in the Benghazi-"scandal"!

And of course, this will not cost the tax- payer a single dime and will lead to absolut solid results, right?!

14 minutes ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

Maybe you should take off your partisan glasses and read the article in full, especially the line "No evidence has been given to back up the accusation."

 

At this point no evidence is needed..that will be gathered, examined and evaluated once the questioning begins under oath. Please dont act like you dont know proper procedure. What we have at this point is massive grounds to suspect

corruption was taking place. The evidence to follow will prove or disprove that...sit back and enjoy the trump show.

6 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

At this point no evidence is needed..that will be gathered, examined and evaluated once the questioning begins under oath. Please dont act like you dont know proper procedure. What we have at this point is massive grounds to suspect

corruption was taking place. The evidence to follow will prove or disprove that...sit back and enjoy the trump show.

You are jumping the gun.

 

The subpoena has to be approved first, then it has to be responded to.

 

Otherwise your statement that ‘the evidence will follow’ exposes why this is utter nonsense.

 

25 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

At this point no evidence is needed..that will be gathered, examined and evaluated once the questioning begins under oath. Please dont act like you dont know proper procedure. What we have at this point is massive grounds to suspect

corruption was taking place. The evidence to follow will prove or disprove that...sit back and enjoy the trump show.

You don’t get it. Subpoena is to obtain evidence. So far there isn’t any evidence that Hunter broke any laws. Outrage that he got a lucrative job and his dad is former VP but all legal like Trump’s kids doing their own businesses while daddy-o is POTUS. Really nothing to see here. Move on. 

49 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

At this point no evidence is needed..that will be gathered, examined and evaluated once the questioning begins under oath. Please dont act like you dont know proper procedure. What we have at this point is massive grounds to suspect

corruption was taking place. The evidence to follow will prove or disprove that...sit back and enjoy the trump show.

Why give evidence. Just ignore it. Right?

Sure dident take them long to fire up the old trump slander machine lol soooo predictable lol you know the guys all fired up about corruption lol god ya just can’t make it up the guy slandering got fined 2 mill for ripping off a charity and the trump supporters just eat it up just beggers belief his kid is using her position to further her business when beeing a gov employee just beggers belief

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The subpoena has to be approved first, then it has to be responded to.

 

Hmmm....wonder where this subpoena is originating from? Surely not the House. ????

 

 

One more nail in the coffin of the Democrat party. The most disgusting era in their history will come to a close with the end of the Party by year's end.

2 hours ago, candide said:

In case you did not notice, the impeachment process started exactly for this reason: Trump trying to discredit Biden. So there is nothing new, Trump started to discredit Biden before being impeached, and the Republicans go on with it.

I don't want them to stop until Hunter is in jail, and Daddy Biden is home with an ankle bracelet. Disgusting crooks!

2 hours ago, candide said:

There was no official investigation. How many times should we tell you before you understand.

The investigation into the Biden crime syndicate has now begun!

Let’s have the unholy duo of William Barr and Giuliani subpoenaed for the hearing too. That will be fun and revealing for Trump’s abuse of power. May even reopen another impeachment trial. Deservingly of course? 

1 hour ago, Chiphigh said:

When the previous administration has tried to bury it and never allowed any investigation, why should we expect you to have any objective questions, while claiming bias, using your own biased perspective....? 

Wrong. It's the current administration which did not start any official investigation. The previous one did not block anything. And oh, surprise! The Republicans start now an investigation which will likely not be concluded before elections.

1 hour ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

Hmmm....wonder where this subpoena is originating from? Surely not the House. ????

 

 

It’s not yet coming from anywhere.

7 minutes ago, Chiphigh said:

Please tell us what investigation was done by the previous administration on the clear conflict of interest by the Bidens. And what are you afraid of? You seemed to want everything to be investigated based on a phony unfounded dossier, but when you see a clear obvious example of corrupt cronyism you seem to be quite uninterested. 

Why are you complaining about the previous administration? The current administration did not start any investigation. So If the previous administration was guilty of some kind of misconduct about it, the current administration is just as guilty, if not more.

It's completely incoherent.

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by candide

23 minutes ago, candide said:

The Republicans start now an investigation which will likely not be concluded before elections.

"The arc of the moral universe is long...but it bends towards justice."

 

Biden, the fake propped up candidate, put forward by a morally decrepit Dem establishment

is about to have his time in the spotlight...he won't handle it well.

59 minutes ago, Chiphigh said:

Incoherent to someone who is trying to make it go away, I'm sure. Do you think that the 3 years of unfounded investigations might have had something to do with the legal investigation process being delayed? 

Pale deflection. You cannot blame the previous administration as the current one did nothing, likely for legal reasons.

2 hours ago, Chiphigh said:

Wrong, it started even before he was sworn in. And it will backfire in spectacular fashion. The timing is excellent for another 4 year term. 

So its all political.nothing to do with corruption. Correct, there is no evidence of any wrondoing. Not even a wb complaint.

1 hour ago, Chiphigh said:

Please tell us what investigation was done by the previous administration on the clear conflict of interest by the Bidens. And what are you afraid of? You seemed to want everything to be investigated based on a phony unfounded dossier, but when you see a clear obvious example of corrupt cronyism you seem to be quite uninterested. 

What conflict. Hunter is not a politician. So he has no conflict.

 

Perhaps you should ask why its taken this administration over 3 years to even think about it. Using govt to investigate a guy only because he may be going for election.

 

What other corruption are they investigating.

5 hours ago, Sujo said:

Just ignore any subpoena.

 

Why is hunter biden so important to investigate.

 

Well let's see. His Daddy was responsible for US relations with Ukraine when VPOTUS. He, Hunter, gets a lucrative position on the board of a Ukraine gas company. A position for which he is not qualified and experienced but is however appointed to a position created for him and very well remunerated. His Daddy was at the time was responsible for all the aid, monetary, military, etc America might or might not give to Ukraine.

 

But hey, they're democrats so no need to investigate, all above board, no corruption, clash of interests. No siree. 

 

Wonder what roles junior might get if Daddy is elected POTUS?

11 minutes ago, Sujo said:

What conflict. Hunter is not a politician. So he has no conflict.

 

Perhaps you should ask why its taken this administration over 3 years to even think about it. Using govt to investigate a guy only because he may be going for election.

 

What other corruption are they investigating.

 

No, he's not a politician. But the laws on corruption apply to him. 

 

And his Daddy is most certainly a politician.

 

His appointment to a foreign firm, for which he was totally unqualified, whilst his VPOTUS Daddy was responsible for American relations with that country might suggest something a little strange to even the dumbest most naive person perchance?

 

And now it seems he may have been traveling around at tax payer expense too.

 

They were under the radar until they crawled out from under their stone and shone the light on themselves. 

 

 

5 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Well there were always going to be ramifications from the botched impeachment saga. Having the Bidens dirty laundry hung out at such a critical time was clearly a massive own goal by the democrats. And here we are. The Hunter gets captured by the game. 

What exactly is the Biden's dirty laundry?

More to the point, what is Joe Biden's dirty laundry? Especially compared with Dumpy Trump! With Dumpy, no amount of detergent is going to clean that up!

31 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

No, he's not a politician. But the laws on corruption apply to him. 

 

And his Daddy is most certainly a politician.

 

His appointment to a foreign firm, for which he was totally unqualified, whilst his VPOTUS Daddy was responsible for American relations with that country might suggest something a little strange to even the dumbest most naive person perchance?

 

And now it seems he may have been traveling around at tax payer expense too.

 

They were under the radar until they crawled out from under their stone and shone the light on themselves. 

 

 

Can you explain why Hunter Biden was not qualified for the job?