Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday asking for documents related to Hunter Biden and Ukrainian gas company Burisma. They want to "better understand what actions, if any, the Obama administration took to ensure that policy decisions relating to Ukraine and Burisma were not improperly influenced by the employment and financial interests of family members."
More specifically, they want to know how Hunter Biden's position on Burisma's board impacted then Vice President Joe Biden's calls to fire a prosecutor looking into the company for corruption. Hunter Biden was paid $50,000 per month by Burisma despite having no experience or expertise in the gas industry.
"In 2016, while Hunter Biden and Devon Archer were both working for Burisma Holdings, Ukraine’s top prosecutor was conducting an investigation into the company and its owner. The Times reported that, in 2016, Vice President Biden 'threatened to withhold $1 billion in United States loan guarantees if Ukraine’s leaders did not dismiss the country’s [Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin].' Ukraine’s parliament voted to dismiss Shokin after Vice President Biden called for his removal," the letter states. "Indeed, Vice President Biden later bragged about how he was responsible for Shokin’s firing."
Further, they want to know if Hunter Biden used his position at the company and his last name to access the State Department for personal gain.
"E-mails recently obtained and made public through a FOIA request indicate that Burisma’s consulting firm used Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board to gain access and potentially influence matters at the State Department," the letter continues. "Additionally, other documents obtained and made public through FOIA show other meetings that Burisma board members Hunter Biden and Devon Archer scheduled with high-ranking State Department officials. In May 2015, Hunter Biden asked to meet then-Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken to “get [his] advice on a couple of things” and again for lunch on July 22, 2015. On March 2, 2016, just one day after Tramontano was scheduled to meet with Under Secretary Novelli about Burisma, Devon Archer was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry."
As Matt wrote earlier, new emails show Burisma lobbyists tried to leverage Hunter Biden's famous last name in order to get meetings with the State Department when Secretary John Kerry was in office. Hunter Biden regularly did business with Kerry's stepson, Christopher Heinz. Heinz cut ties with Biden after her joined the Burisma board.
“Mr. Heinz strongly warned Mr. Archer that working with Burisma was unacceptable. Mr. Archer stated that he and Hunter Biden intended to pursue the opportunity as individuals, not as part of the firm. The lack of judgment in this matter was a major catalyst for Mr. Heinz ending his business relationships with Mr. Archer and Mr. Biden,” Chris Bastardi, a representative for Heinz tells Townhall.
BREAKING: FOIA'd email shows Burisma's lobbyists used Hunter Biden's position on the board of the corrupt Ukrainian gas company to request a meeting with Obama/Kerry State Department officials while Joe Biden was Vice President.
— Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@MattWolking) November 5, 2019
This is the evidence the media said didn't exist. pic.twitter.com/4cL9k1S9DY
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated Christopher Heinz served on the Burisma board with Hunter Biden. That is incorrect and Heinz never served on the Burisma board. The correction has been made and a statement has been added. The error is regretable.
For exclusive content and reporting, subscribe to Townhall VIP.