Senate Republicans are discussing whether to bring former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Huter in for questioning during the impeachment trial of President Trump, if the House votes to impeach.
Trump allies in the Senate have advocated for hauling the Bidens in for questioning as witnesses, though the plan has gotten some pushback from senators who are not diehard Trump supporters, The Washington Post reported.
Trump’s allies in the Senate have an “intense and growing interest in countering the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry by delving into Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China,” The Post reported.
There has been no evidence that either Biden did anything illegal in Ukraine or China.
The idea was first raised by Sens. Rand Paul and John Kennedy at a recent private lunch among Republicans.
Paul echoed those comments at a Trump rally on Monday.
“I say this to my fellow colleagues in Congress, to every Republican in Washington: Step up and subpoena Hunter Biden and subpoena the whistleblower!” he declared.
Some Republicans push back:
Many Senate Republicans expressed “reservations” about the strategy, “fearing that it would look overtly political and that it may not be appropriate, or even possible, to include such witnesses in an impeachment trial,” The Post reported.
A Senate leadership aide told the outlet that the discussions were not serious and “it’s way too early to speculate on what witnesses will appear in a Senate trial.”
“I think that’s a sideshow,” said Sen. John Cornyn, calling impeachment a “very solemn and serious constitutional process.”
“I just think that whatever the House decides to vote on . . . that’s what we ought to consider and not make this any more of a reality show than it’s likely to become,” he said.
Trump allies split:
Though some Trump allies like Paul pushed for the strategy, fellow Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, rejected the idea.
“I don’t have jurisdiction over Hunter and Joe Biden, so we’re not going to call them at the Judiciary Committee,” Graham said. “That’s just not proper. I don’t have jurisdiction and I’m an institutional guy.”
Graham has invited Rudy Giuliani to testify but the Trump attorney refused.
“I think they will claim privilege,” Graham said of Giuliani and the White House. “The question for them becomes, ‘Will that privilege stick?’ ”
