Trump says Democrats trying to protect Bidens
President tweets Democrats don’t want impeachment trial
Washington — President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Democrats of seeking to avoid an impeachment trial in the Senate to protect Joe Biden and his son Hunter, whose service on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father was vice president has come under scrutiny.
Trump weighed in on Twitter as an impasse continued over the timing and scope of an expected Senate trial. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has held back the two articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — passed in December by the House.
She and Senate Democrats are seeking guarantees that a Senate trial will include several witnesses, notably acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton, who declined to participate in the House impeachment proceedings. Democrats also are pushing for the release of documents relevant to Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine that the White House has refused to provide.
“The Democrats will do anything to avoid a trial in the Senate in order to protect Sleepy Joe Biden, and expose the millions and millions of dollars that ‘Where’s’ Hunter, & possibly Joe, were paid by companies and countries for doing NOTHING,” Trump said in his tweet. “Joe wants no part of this mess!”
Trump has previously insisted that a Senate trial include the Bidens as witnesses, along with the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry.
Later Tuesday, Trump took direct aim at Pelosi.
“Remember when Pelosi was screaming that President Trump is a danger to our nation and we must move quickly,” he tweeted. “They didn’t get one Republican House vote, and lost 3 Dems. They produced no case so now she doesn’t want to go to the Senate. She’s all lies. Most overrated person I know!”
While records suggest that Hunter Biden was paid lucratively for his service on the board of the Burisma energy company, no evidence has emerged of any wrongdoing. There has also been no evidence that Joe Biden, now a Democratic presidential candidate, was paid in connection with his son’s service on the board. As part of his duties as vice president, Joe Biden was heavily involved in U.S. policy toward Ukraine.
As Trump tweeted from his Mara-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on New Year’s Eve, it remained unclear when a trial might start in the Republican-led Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is insisting that senators hear opening statements by House impeachment managers and lawyers for Trump before deciding whether to allow either side to call witnesses.