A Senate committee on Wednesday asked for documents and testimony from a consulting company that did work for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. Hunter Biden (R), shown with his father Joe Biden (C) and former President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on Jan 39, 2010, served on the board of Burisma while Joe Biden was vice president. Photo by Alexis Glenn/UPI |
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May 20 (UPI) -- The Senate's Homeland Security Committee authorized a subpoena Wednesday for the consulting company that represented the Ukrainian natural gas company with ties to Hunter Biden.
The move is the latest push by supporters of President Donald Trump for an investigation into Hunter Biden, who served on the board of Burisma Holdings while his father, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, served as vice president under President Barack Obama.
The subpoena, which was approved on a party-line vote, demands testimony and documentation from Blue Star Strategies, the Washington-based consulting firm that did work on behalf of Burisma Holdings.
Republicans and Trump have worked to either start or revive investigations into the Bidens and former Obama administration officials as the November general election approaches.
"The public deserves to know how a guy who was vice president of the United States, who is currently trying to be president, got away with using the U.S. government to force a foreign country to stop investigating a company that was paying his son," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, D-S.C., is also asking for the authority to subpoena ex-FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper for their part in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. All served under Obama.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the subpoenas are an effort to smear Biden before the November election.
"It appears the subpoena is just for show, a way to create the false impression of wrongdoing," Schumer said. "It's like in a third world dictatorship, a show trial with no basis in fact, with no due process, with no reality."