After the conclusion of opening statements in the Senate impeachment trial, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., plans to submit questions asking lead House Manager Rep. Adam Schiff’s, D-Calif., about his relationship with the whistleblower. Hawley also plans on questioning Hunter Biden’s work with the Ukrainian gas company Burisma during the Obama administration.
“This isn’t just about [former national security adviser] John Bolton. This should be about the whistleblower, Adam Schiff, Hunter Biden — let’s hear from them all,” Hawley said on Fox News Monday morning.
Should the Senate consider allowing subpoenas for additional evidence and witnesses, Hawley said he will issue motions to request documents and appearances from: House Manager Adam Schiff, Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, the whistleblower, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former Burisma board member Hunter Biden.
According to Schiff, on September 17, 2019, he had not, nor had any of his staff, spoken with the whistleblower; who reported the phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However, Schiff’s story did not align with a New York Times report released on October 2. According to the New York Times, Schiff learned the “outlines of a CIA officer’s concerns that President Trump had abused his power” days before the complaint was filed.
Hawley wants to know what, how, and why Schiff was privy to this information before it was reported. Questions Hawley wants to ask include:
- What precisely did Manager Schiff learn in advance?
- Did Manager Schiff or any of his staff offer [the whistleblower] substantive advice on his complaint?
- Did manager Schiff or any of his staff help the intelligence officer draft the complaint in any way or to any degree?
The Missouri Senator also wants to know the Obama administration’s view on Hunter Biden’s interactions with Burisma and Ukrainian officials.
“Was President Obama aware that Hunter Biden had been appointed to the board of directors of Burisma when Vice President Joe Biden withheld funds from Ukraine in exchange for the prosecutor’s removal?” Hawley asked in a press release.
Hawley also noted how then-Vice President Joe Biden committed a similar “impeachable use of power.” According to Democrats, if Biden withheld aid from the Ukrainian government in exchange for the removal of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Biden should have been impeached.
