Republicans Issue Biden-Burisma Probe Subpoena
An effort one Republican senator said was essential to “get to the truth about the Bidens’ relationship with Burisma” moved forward Wednesday as the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee issued the first subpoena in its investigation.
The committee is investigating the relationship between Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, and Hunter Biden, the son of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden, according to The Hill.
In 2016, while the elder Biden was still vice president, he intervened to instruct the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor who had at one time begun an investigation of Burisma, the company on whose board his son had served.
Republicans have said the intervention was designed to protect Hunter Biden and are investigating whether there was widespread corruption related to Ukraine during the Obama administration. Democrats have argued that the prosecutor Biden helped to get fired was himself corrupt and that Biden was acting in consort with American allies when he pressured Ukraine to remove him.
Wednesday’s subpoena was aimed at Blue Star Strategies, which has links to Burisma. The subpoena seeks records from Blue Star from Jan. 1, 2013, to the present “related to work for or on behalf of Burisma Holdings or individuals associated with Burisma.”
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said he supported the investigation because “we needed to get to the truth about the Bidens’ relationship with Burisma.”
“These hearings will provide the Senate with the full picture,” Scott said.
Democrats claim the committee is playing politics.
“This is not a serious bipartisan investigation in the tradition of this committee, and I do not believe we should be going down this road,” Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan said, adding that the “extremely partisan investigation is pulling us apart.”
Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California also slammed Republicans, who were able to push the subpoena forward by prevailing on a party-line vote.
“There are literally matters of life and death waiting for our committee’s attention, but instead this committee is doing the president’s personal bidding,” she said, according to Fox News.
“Members of this committee, I urge you to vote against this political sideshow so that we can focus our attention on the pandemic that is threatening the lives and livelihood of the American people,” Harris continued.
Committee chair Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, said the Democrats’ objections make him even more curious.
Appearing on the Fox News show “Outnumbered Overtime” on Wednesday, Johnson said that Democratic objections have left him “somewhat suspicious.”
“I think they protest a little bit too much,” said Johnson. “Apparently we’re hitting a nerve here.”
“Maybe we’re getting close to finding out some important information,” he said.
Johnson said the subpoena was “actually requested on a bipartisan basis.”
“Then when it comes down to subpoenaing Blue Star, all of a sudden they object and they kind of throw a little bit of a hissy fit there,” he said. “But, trust me … I didn’t want to make this a big deal. I just want to get the information, I just want to get those records.”
“We’ll get those records now and we’ll see if we find something.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
