Obama blasts GOP inquiry into Biden son’s Ukrainian activities

WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama’s office called Senate Republicans’ investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son’s activities in Ukraine an effort “to give credence to a Russian disinformation campaign” in a letter Obama’s office sent to the National Archives.

The letter represents Obama’s strongest reaction to date to Republican efforts to investigate unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine and not Russia interfered to help President Donald Trump win the 2016 election.

The letter came in response to a November request from Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa for records of White House meetings “between and among Obama administration officials, Ukrainian government representatives, and Democratic National Committee (DNC) officials.”

Johnson and Grassley’s request came at the beginning of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry of Trump and was part of their effort to prove the unfounded theory, backed by Russia, Trump and other Trump-allied Republicans, that it was Ukraine and not Russia that interfered in the 2016 election.

“The request for early release of presidential records in order to give credence to a Russian disinformation campaign — one that has already been thoroughly investigated by a bipartisan congressional committee — is without precedent,” the letter said. “This use of the special access process serves no legitimate purpose, and does not outweigh or justify infringing confidentiality interests that all presidents have sought to protect.”