Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is criticizing the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s decision to vote on issuing a subpoena for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, as the country works to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The Democratic lawmaker is blasting the Republican-led panel, arguing that they should be prioritizing the efforts to mitigate the coronavirus outbreak.
“We’re in the middle of a public health and economic crisis, but instead of holding oversight hearings about testing, PPE, or bringing in the FEMA administrator, Senate Republicans are choosing to pursue diversionary, partisan conspiracy theories to prop up President Trump,” Schumer said.
A new memo obtained by Politico confirms the Senate committee has a plan in motion to vote on chairman Ron Johnson’s request for a subpoena next Wednesday.
If the vote is passed, a subpoena will be issued to the Democratic public-relations firm, Blue Star Strategies, as part of the investigation into Hunter Biden and the U.S. Department of State run by President Barack Obama’s administration.
The allegations stem from the public relations firm’s work with the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma Holdings — which Hunter Biden previously served on the company’s board. The company, Blue Star Strategies, has been accused of using Hunter Biden’s role as leverage to influence changes to policies within the State Department. The Biden’s have denied this.
President Donald Trump has pushed the allegations, calling for Hunter Biden to be investigated. Back in January, he demanded that Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Mass.) testify at his Senate impeachment hearing.
“I’m going to leave it to the Senate, but I’d like to hear the whistleblower, I’d like to hear ‘shifty’ Schiff, I’d like to hear Hunter Biden and Joe Biden,” Trump said.
According to Johnson an update, interim report on the status of the current investigation will be released this summer.