According to new reports, House Republicans are planning to call Joe Biden’s son Hunter as a witness at the impeachment hearings for President Trump.
As you’ll recall, Hunter Biden has been at the center of a controversy regarding his former position on the board of a Ukrainian energy company – and the $50K+ per month salary that came with it – despite Hunter having no background in the energy industry or in foreign relations with the Ukraine.
His suspicious business dealings in the Ukraine have come front and center following the allegations against President Trump that he inappropriately asked Ukraine’s president to look into potential Biden family corruption.
And yet, we still haven’t heard from Hunter himself!
Now, Hunter is at the top of a list of witnesses that House Republicans have compiled to request to testify at the hearings.
Check it out:
President Trump expressed his agreement that Hunter Biden should testify:
Trump Jr. made a great point about the double-standard he and Hunter are being held to:
Others, like Charlie Kirk, are wondering why it has taken so long for anyone to try to get a word out of Hunter:
Fox News has more to say about the list of witnesses Republicans have requested to testify at the impeachment hearings:
House Republicans plan to call Hunter Biden, the Ukraine whistleblower and a range of other witnesses to testify in the upcoming public Trump impeachment hearings, according to a witness list obtained exclusively by Fox News.
It is unclear, at this point, how many of the Republicans’ proposed witnesses will be approved by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and the Democrats, because the newly-approved resolution governing the impeachment inquiry give the approval power to the chairman and the members of the majority.
"Americans see through this sham impeachment process, despite the Democrats' efforts to retroactively legitimize it last week," House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes wrote in a letter to Schiff on Saturday, referencing the impeachment rules.
"To provide transparency to your otherwise opaque and unfair process, and after consultation with [House Oversight Committee] Ranking Member Jim Jordan and [House Foreign Affairs Committee] Ranking Member Michael McCaul, the American people deserve to hear from the following witnesses in an open setting," he continued.
At the top of Republicans’ list is former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, who has emerged as a central figure in the Ukraine controversy due to his business dealings.
The impeachment inquiry began when a whistleblower reported that Trump had pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into the Biden family’s dealings in Ukraine—specifically, why former Vice President Joe Biden pressured former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to fire a top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, where Hunter held a lucrative role on the board, bringing in a reported $50,000 per month.
Republicans noted that in testimony from former State Department official George Kent raised concerns about "the appearance of a conflict of interest stemming from Mr. Biden's position on Burisma's board," and added that former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich was prepared by the Obama State Department to address questions about Mr. Biden's position on Burisma during her Senate confirmation process.
The Washington Post also said:
House Republicans asked for their own impeachment witnesses on Saturday, sending Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) a list that includes former vice president Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and the anonymous whistleblower who filed the initial complaint against President Trump.
Also Saturday, Trump told reporters he’ll “probably” release on Tuesday the transcript of an April call he made to congratulate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after he won his election, according to a White House pool report.
The impeachment probe moves from closed-door depositions to open hearings next week, which Democrats hope will present a strong case to the American public that bolsters support for impeaching the president.
Republicans and the president have complained that the Democrats’ inquiry is unfairly partisan. Schiff is likely to reject many, if not all, of the witnesses from the Republicans’ wish list. When the Democrats deny them, the Republicans will then present that as evidence of a one-sided process.
“We expect that you will call each of the witnesses listed above to ensure that the Democrats’ ‘impeachment inquiry’ treats the President with fairness, as promised by Speaker Pelosi,” wrote Devin Nunes (Calif.), ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee. “Your failure to fulfill Minority witness requests shall constitute evidence of your denial of fundamental fairness and due process.”
Witnesses who testified out of public view have corroborated the crux of the case against Trump — that he pressured Zelensky to investigate his political rivals — so the Democrats see no need for the whistleblower, who heard the story secondhand, to testify. Three career State Department officials are returning next week for the public hearings.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!