It turns out that 2020 Democrat presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has no intention of testifying during a Senate impeachment trial against Donald Trump.
During a discussion with the Des Moines Register editorial board Friday, Biden said that even if he were subpoenaed for testimony, he wouldn't attend.
"The reason I wouldn't is because it's all designed to deal with Trump doing what he's done his whole life, trying to take the focus off him. The issue is not what I did, not a single person, not one, not a single person, even that thug Guiliani and his (inaudible) compatriots, have said I did anything other than my job," Biden said. "This is all about a diversion."
Biden also tried to explain why he advocated for the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating gas company Burisma. At the time Burisma paid Hunter Biden $83,000 per month to sit on the board, despite having no experience in the industry.
Watch: @JoeBiden says he wouldn't comply with a Senate subpoena in @realDonaldTrump's impeachment trial because it would create a narrative that would let the president "off the hook."
— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) December 28, 2019
Read more from our interview earlier today: https://t.co/xgpO6OOPw2 pic.twitter.com/bqrapiVhVO
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham opened an inquiry into the Biden's business dealings last month and Republican Senators want to know if Hunter Biden was selling access to the Obama administration. During Hunter Biden's time on the board of Burisma, Vice President Joe Biden was in charge of Ukraine policy.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday afternoon requesting documents related to former Vice President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
Graham wants to know the details of phone calls made between Vice President Joe Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko about a prosecutor Biden demanded he fire in 2016. During that time, the prosecutor was reportedly investigating Burisma, where Hunter Biden was making $83,000 per month for sitting on the board. Hunter Biden has no expertise in the oil and gas industry.
If a lengthy impeachment trial in the Senate were to ever take place, Hunter and Joe Biden are on the witness list of many Republicans.
During the impeachment inquiry in the House, a number of Democrat witnesses testified that there was a clear conflict of interest between Hunter Biden's Burisma board position and Vice President Joe Biden's Ukraine portfolio. They also testified that Burisma is one of the most infamously corrupt companies in the world.