On Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) threw down the gauntlet on the Joe Biden-Hunter Biden-Ukraine issue, firing off a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting call summaries or transcripts between Biden and former Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko.
Today, Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents related to contacts between Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, other Obama administration officials and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
MORE: https://t.co/aSw27OMIej
— Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) November 21, 2019
Graham wrote, “Today, I sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents related to contacts between: Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, other Obama administration officials and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.”
Today, I sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents related to contacts between:
➡️ Vice President Biden
➡️ Hunter Biden
➡️ other Obama administration officials and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) November 21, 2019
As Twitchy noted, “Rasmussen reports that a recent poll showed that 46 percent of Americans think the current House hearings should be expanded to look into the Bidens and their dealings with Ukraine — something Rep. Adam Schiff has warned Republicans is out of the scope of President Trump’s impeachment hearings.”
Poll Tested: 46%
We didn't have to 'bribe" our U.S. national likely voter respondents for fully 46% of them to tell us that the current House hearings should be expanded to look at the Ukrainian involvement of Hunter & Joe Biden.
Crosstabs & story below.
CC: @LindseyGrahamSC https://t.co/AjREboQIww pic.twitter.com/40oGbdWXGY
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) November 19, 2019
In his letter, Graham stated that he wants:
All documents and communications, including call transcripts or summaries, related to the Vice President’s phone calls with President Poroshenko on February 11, 18, and 19 and March 22 of 2016, especially with respect to whether Vice President Biden mentioned the Prosecutor General’s investigation into Burisma.
All documents and communications between the Vice President and his office and President Poroshenko and his office after the raid on Mr. Zlochevsky’s home on February 2, 2016, until the dismissal of the Prosecutor General on March 29, 2016.
All documents and communications related to a meeting between Devon Archer, a business partner of Hunter Biden, and Secretary of State John Kerry on March 2, 2016.
Earlier this month, Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, rejected the idea proposed by House Republicans for Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden to testify in the impeachment inquiry targeting President Trump. As Newsweek reported, “Current ranking member Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, in a letter to Schiff on Saturday, asked for Biden, the anonymous whistleblower and several others to testify as part of the impeachment probe, which will move from closed-door depositions to public hearings next week.” Nunes wrote, “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. Your failure to fulfill Minority witness requests shall constitute evidence of your denial of fundamental fairness and due process.”
Newsweek added, “In addition to Biden and the whistleblower, House Republicans also asked for several other testimonies in an open settling, including from Devon Archer, an American businessman who served with Biden on the board of Burisma Holdings; Nellie Ohr, former contractor for opposition research firm Fusion GPS; and David Jale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.”
Schiff huffed, according to The Washington Post:
This inquiry is not and will not serve as a vehicle to undertake the same sham investigations into the Bidens or 2016 that the President pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit or facilitate the President’s effort to threaten, intimidate, and retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously raised the initial alarm. The Committee is evaluating the Minority’s witness requests and will give due consideration to witnesses within the scope of the impeachment inquiry, as voted on by the House. As we move into the open hearing phase of the inquiry, the Committee is mindful that we are engaged in a sober endeavor rooted in the Constitution to determine whether the President of the United States engaged in misconduct that warrants impeachment by the House.
