A freshman Republican senator from Missouri is preparing a list of subpoenas he will demand if Democrats force the upper chamber to call witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
Sen. Josh Hawley said he’s prepared to call Vice President Joe Biden, his youngest son Hunter Biden, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), and the alleged whistleblower who claimed Trump improperly withheld military aid from Ukraine last year.
The aid is at the center of the Democrat-led House impeachment of the president.
“Hawley would also seek communications among the whistleblower, Schiff and his staff, transcripts of Atkinson’s congressional testimony, communications between the House impeachment managers and Democratic presidential candidates as well as documents related to Biden’s drive to oust former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin,” POLITICO reported Saturday.
Hawley’s strategy aligns with that of Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who have said they will want to hear from Hunter Biden if the chamber votes to subpoena witnesses.
Hunter Biden was employed by an energy company, Burisma Holdings, as a board member for a reported $83,000 a month at a time when his then-vice president father, Joe Biden, forced the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor looking into corruption allegations involving the firm.
Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees from Ukraine if then-President Petro Poroshenko did not fire Shokin, which he did.
Hawley indicated he would also seek communications from the whistleblower, believed to have once worked with Biden in the White House and who also reportedly had contact with House Intelligence Committee chair Schiff and his staff.
Also, Hawley said he would subpoena transcripts of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson’s October impeachment testimony to Schiff’s committee, as well communications between the House impeachment managers and Democratic presidential candidates as well as documents related to Biden’s drive to oust Shokin, POLITICO reported.
Senate Judiciary Committee chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said last week he’d rather handle any allegations of corruption against leading 2020 Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden outside of the impeachment trial.
Josh Hawley is a man with a future