Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Friday that he will oppose a motion to subpoena Hunter Biden if fellow senators vote to approve new witnesses as part of the upper chamber’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
Asked by reporters if he would support a motion to impel Hunter Biden to appear, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman said he would “vote against it,” reports The Hill.
Graham explained that he will not support hearing from Biden because he believes the trial needs to draw to a swift end.
“To my Republican friends, you may upset about what happened in Ukraine with the Bidens, but this is not the venue to litigate that,” he said.
Graham then added that he is unaware of three other senators who would also vote against the move; however, political observers believe his opposition to it would end hopes of Biden’s testimony.
“I need some Republicans who would say, as much as I want to know more about Burisma and the Bidens, this is not the venue. I’ve got to find four,” he stated.
It is still unclear whether moderate senators such as Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) will support subpoenaing Biden in exchange for testimonies from Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former Trump White House National Security Advisor John Bolton — two officials that the lawmakers have said they are interested in hearing from.
Graham’s position places him at odds with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has argued that President Trump’s legal defense team should have the ability to interview whoever they want for the proceedings — including former vice president Joe Biden’s youngest son.
“The president gets to call anybody he thinks would be good for his defense, the prosecution can call who they want, but I don’t think we should selectively call witnesses that don’t like the president,” Paul argued last Friday.
Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has signed willingness to considering subpoenaing the younger Biden in exchange for other witnesses wanted by Senate Democrats, saying last week: “When you get to that issue, I can’t imagine that only the witnesses that our Democratic colleagues would want to call would be called.”
Allegations of corruption against Hunter Biden have taken center take during the impeachment proceedings. Reports state he was paid $83,000 monthly by Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings while his father was vice president — despite a lack of experience in the oil and gas space.
Graham’s remarks come as the Senate kicked off Day Four of its trial, where the House Democrat impeachment managers are still making their case as to why the upper chamber should vote to remove the president. The White House legal team will begin their opening arguments on Saturday.
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