GOP-led panel to hear from former official who said Burisma was not a factor in US policy

Amos Hochstein, the former senior adviser on international energy affairs to then-Vice President Joe Biden, is testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday as part of its probe into the FBI’s Russia investigation.

The closed-door testimony will look into the business dealings of Biden’s son Hunter Biden with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company where he previously served on the board.

Hunter Biden’s ties to Burisma have faced renewed scrutiny since the elder Biden became the Democratic presidential nominee. Hochstein is the only person testifying before the committee known to have discussed Burisma with the previous administration.

Hochstein has told associates that he has Burisma never factored into a change in U.S. policy, according NBC News, and he will reportedly testify that the Obama administration sought to punish Burisma rather than protect it.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a close ally of President Trump’s who chairs the committee, has said he expects to have a report completed by this month. 

Johnson’s probe comes as Trump and his allies have seized on a discredited theory that as vice president, Biden tried to remove Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin to protect his son. No evidence has indicated that either of the Bidens engaged in criminal wrongdoing, but Johnson has argued that the Bidens created a “real quandary” for the Obama administration and Ukraine officials. 

Democrats have criticized Johnson’s probe as overly political. Earlier this week when the committee voted to to greenlight subpoenas and depositions as part of their investigation, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was undecided and voiced concerns on Wednesday about Johnson’s inquiries.

Romney said the investigation had the “earmarks of a political exercise.” Johnson has said that is not the case but has also commented several times on how the findings of the report could impact the presidential election.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.