President Donald Trump on Thursday called on former Vice President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden to testify in the coming public impeachment inquiry hearings, which are scheduled to start next week.
“He and Sleepy Joe must testify!” Trump tweeted, using one of his nicknames to refer to the former vice president and Delaware senator.
In a later tweet, Trump said that the public House impeachment inquiry hearings next week are “fake” as officials interview “never Trumpers.”
“I get NO LAWYER & NO DUE PROCESS. It is a Pelosi, Schiff, Scam against the Republican Party and me. This Witch Hunt should not be allowed to proceed!” he wrote, referring to House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
It was just explained to me that for next weeks Fake Hearing (trial) in the House, as they interview Never Trumpers and others, I get NO LAWYER & NO DUE PROCESS. It is a Pelosi, Schiff, Scam against the Republican Party and me. This Witch Hunt should not be allowed to proceed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2019
In the first tweet, the president was responding to a question posed by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who asked, “What did Hunter Biden do for the money?” Trump described it as a “very good question.”
Kennedy said the president possibly had legitimate reasons for wanting Ukraine to investigate Biden’s effort to oust a prosecutor in 2018.
“What did Hunter Biden do for the money?” @SenJohnKennedy A very good question. He and Sleepy Joe must testify!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2019
In a recent interview, the senator suggested that Biden’s son Hunter had extensive business dealings in Ukraine and China.
“You know what that message sends to the world? That America can be bought like a sack of potatoes,” Kennedy told the Washington Examiner. “That is relevant. And I don’t see how you can litigate the president’s guilt or innocence without litigating whether he had a good faith basis for believing there could have been corruption.”
It’s unlikely that either of the Bidens will testify in the Democratic-led House impeachment inquiry, as Democrats have the power to veto any witnesses that Republicans request for a subpoena.
But should the impeachment efforts reach the Senate, the Bidens might be called.
Last month, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who heads the Judiciary Committee, suggested that the Bidens might be called for testimony, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) took the stage next to Trump in Kentucky during a rally, calling on the anonymous whistleblower to testify while he also suggested that the Bidens testify.
In an interview with CNN, a Democratic senator said that the Bidens might have to.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said he hopes that the pair won’t have to appear in front of the Senate, but “I think that may very well happen.”
“The Republican majority, rather than working with us in the Democratic caucus and coming up with widely agreed-upon bipartisan rules for how to proceed with the impeachment are—at least according to that report you just shared—looking for ways to further juice the partisan aspects of this ongoing inquiry,” he remarked.
According to transcripts released by House Democrats, several current and former Trump administration officials claimed the president and his associates pushed Ukraine to investigate Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian gas firm where Hunter Biden had served on the board. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
A star witness, U.S. diplomat Bill Taylor, said in a closed-door inquiry meeting that he had a “clear understanding” that the White House wanted to leverage military aid to Ukraine in return for investigations.
Taylor, however, said he had no firsthand knowledge of Trump’s plans. “What I know is what Ambassador Sondland was able to tell me about those investigations and Ambassador Volker,” Taylor said, according to the deposition transcript released on Wednesday. “I don’t know what was in the president’s mind.”
