Senate Report On Biden-Ukraine Accusations To Drop Within Days
Senate Republicans are set to release their long-awaited report on Joe and Hunter Biden's activities in Ukraine, and is expected to conclude that Hunter Biden's lucrative seat the board of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma impacted Obama-era Ukraine policy, which was led by Joe Biden at the time, according to The Hill. Joe Biden has been accused of abusing his position in a quid-pro-quo arrangement whereby he admitted he withheld $1 billion in US loan guarantees if the country's lead prosecutor investigating Burisma was fired. The Bidens have denied any wrongdoing, however depositions from former Ukrainian officials who were directly involved, as well as leaked recordings between Joe Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Proroshenko have painted a picture of textbook corruption. Notably, Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for "spreading disinformation to 'undermine' the former vice president" when he leaked several recordings of "voices similar to Poroshenko and Biden" discussing the quid-pro-quo, which Derkach says a journalist gave to him. The Senate report follows a probe spearheaded by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and is expected to be released this week. "I think it’s time for the American people to see what we’ve got," said Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "What our investigations are uncovering, I think, will reveal this is not somebody we should be electing president of the United States," he added. The report will come days before the first presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden, and will likely provide Trump with plenty of fresh ammunition. Biden, meanwhile, will be able to trot out Trump's latest sexual assault accusation, to which Trump will be able to trot out Biden's.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) predictably downplayed the report - warning that the Biden-Burisma probe was nothing more than a "political exercise," adding "It’s not the legitimate role of government for Congress or for taxpayer expense to be used in an effort to damage political opponents." The Biden campaign responded - telling The Hill: "It is disgraceful enough for the chair of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee to dismiss the worst public health crisis in generations and abandon oversight of the failed federal response to the pandemic. But to instead subsidize a foreign influence operation against the sovereignty of our elections with American taxpayer dollars, all in a vain attempt to resuscitate a conspiracy theory that hinges on Senator Johnson himself being corrupt, is tragic malfeasance." That's quite the statement - and telegraphs Biden's likely bullet points for the debate. Whether he can effectively convey them is anyone's guess.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) attempted to pass a resolution condemning the GOP's Burisma probe, while The Hill also reports that Democrats may claim that the probe violates the Senate's Rule 19 - which states that "no Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator." "President Trump's Department of the Treasury sanctions Derkach, and the chairman of the committee repeats the same kind of discredited allegations that Derkach propagates. It is outrageous. It is a disgrace," Schumer added. Johnson, meanwhile, has denied any contact with Derkach during the investigation. In other words, it doesn't matter what the GOP probe concludes about the Bidens and Ukraine - it's 'unbecoming of a Senator' to investigate at all. According to Sen. Johnson, "I saw their resolution … so I was going to enter my own," adding "When I came on the floor, I was basically warned, ‘We are concerned about what’s going to happen here on the floor.’ … We were all warned."
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/senate-report-biden-ukraine-accusations-drop-within-days