Jim Jordan requests documents from Pompeo regarding Hunter Biden, Burisma
GOP Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, joined his colleagues in the Senate on Thursday in their push forward with probes regarding the Obama administration.
Jordan, who was one of President Trump’s staunchest defenders during the House impeachment hearings, requested unredacted documents from the State Department on Thursday regarding former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s role in Burisma Holdings, a “notoriously corrupt” Ukrainian state-run oil company.
“During the House Democrats’ partisan impeachment inquiry in late 2019, several State Department officials described how they raised concerns during the Obama-Biden Administration about Hunter Biden’s role with Burisma,” Jordan wrote in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
During the impeachment proceedings in both the House and the Senate, Trump and his allies claimed that the former vice president, while serving in office with former President Barack Obama, pushed for the ouster of a Ukrainian prosecutor in order to halt an investigation into Burisma Holdings where his son sat on the company’s board.
No evidence has been uncovered to back these claims.
The House impeachment inquiry sought to determine if President Trump witheld $400 million in U.S. military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate the actions of the Bidens and their involvement in the eastern European country.
Jordan said that documents obtained by the committee via a Freedom of Information Act request showed former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was briefed on Hunter Biden’s role in Burisma and reports of corruption at the company.
When asked by the House Intelligence Committee during the impeachment inquiry, Yovanovitch said she did not remember such a briefing.
Jordan requested unredacted copies of all documents and email exchanges having to do with Burisma between 2014 and 2017.
This week, several key GOP senators began using their committee positions to dig into some of the biggest concerns of Trump and his allies, including Hunter Biden’s involvement with Burisma, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court and the handling of the Russia probe.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters that they will begin requesting documents and subpoenaing Obama administration officials.
GOP lawmakers have also raised questions over the surveillance of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a former Trump campaign official who was charged with lying to the FBI about calls he had with a Russian official following the 2016 election. Flynn originally pleaded guilty to lying about the calls.
The Department of Justice moved to drop the case against Flynn earlier this month.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell this week sent Congress a list of dozens of Obama administration officials who said they say asked for documents that led to the identity of Flynn being “unmasked” from intelligence reports between the 2016 election and President Trump’s inauguration.
Trump and his allies claim that the Obama administration sought to undermine his administration by leaking selective bits of information to the media. The president has pointed to Flynn’s “unmasking” as yet another instance of what he believes is foul play.
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