Senate follows Trump’s lead in scrutinizing Biden’s son
WASHINGTON — Republicans are wielding the power of their Senate majority to intensify an election-year investigation of Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian energy firm, putting new scrutiny on the son of Joe Biden as the former vice president reemerges as President Donald Trump’s chief rival for the presidency.
In elevating questions about the younger Biden’s work in Ukraine, Senate
Republicans are effectively picking up where Trump left off last year when he pressed the country’s leaders to investigate the Bidens, an effort that led to his impeachment on charges he abused his power by seeking foreign help in the 2020 election. It is part of a broader attempt by his allies on Capitol Hill to breathe fresh life into politically charged inquiries into issues that have preoccupied Trump.
Sen. Ron Johnson, RWis., chairman of the
Homeland Security Committee, plans to hold a vote next week despite Democratic objections to issue a rare Senate subpoena to Andrii Telizhenko, a former Ukrainian official who worked for Burisma, the energy firm. Johnson said Wednesday that he would release an interim report this spring summarizing what Republicans had learned from months of queries.
For now, Republicans insist Burisma is a matter of interest unrelated to Biden’s presidential candidacy, and no evidence has emerged to suggest that either Biden acted improperly.
Some Republicans have privately voiced discomfort about the effort.
On Thursday, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, told reporters there was “no question” that “looking into Burisma and Hunter appears political.”
“People are tired of these kind of political investigations, and would hope that if there is something of significance that needs to be evaluated, it would be done by perhaps the FBI and some other agency that is not as political as a committee of our body,” he said.
Those leading the inquiries insist their focus on Burisma is not politically driven, noting that it dates to 2017, before it was clear that Biden would be a presidential candidate.
“We are proceeding with the investigation whether Biden is in or out,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.