The findings of a months-long probe by two Republican chairmen released Wednesday asserted that Hunter Biden’s tenure on the board of the corruption-linked Ukrainian gas company Burisma “did interfere in the efficient execution” of Obama-era policy toward Ukraine led by former Vice President Joe Biden.
“Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board cast a shadow over the work of those [Obama-era officials] advancing anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine,” the report from Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said.
Hunter worked for Burisma between April 2014 and April 2019 for a lucrative salary of tens of thousands a month. As VP, Joe Biden, now the Democrat presidential nominee, was in charge of the Obama administration’s handling of Ukraine during most of his son Hunter’s tenure at Burisma.
The report conceded it “is not clear” to what extent Hunter’s work for Burisma impacted U.S. policy toward Ukraine.
However, it said Hunter’s employment at a Ukrainian company deemed corrupt by U.S. officials when his father was the public face of U.S. dealings with Ukraine created an “awkwardness” for the Obama-era State Department officials.
Grassley and Johnson wrote in the report:
Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board hindered the efforts of dedicated career-service individuals who were fighting for anti-corruption measures in Ukraine. Because the vice president’s son had a direct link to a corrupt company and its owner, State Department officials were required to maintain situational awareness of Hunter Biden’s association with Burisma.
Unfortunately, U.S. officials had no other choice but to endure the “awkward[ness]” of continuing to push an anti-corruption agenda in Ukraine while the vice president’s son sat on the board of a Ukrainian company with a corrupt owner, earning tens of thousands of dollars a month.
The GOP investigators found that only two individuals raised concerns to their superiors at Obama’s State Department — George Kent, currently the deputy assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs, and Amos Hochstein, a top Obama-era State official.
However, their concerns appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
The report confirmed impeachment testimony from Kent that the Obama administration was aware of the conflict of interest created by Hunter’s dealings with Ukraine, but did nothing.
Obama’s Vice-President Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry knew of Hunter’s position at a company linked to corruption, the probe found.
Johnson and Grassley wrote:
What the Chairmen discovered during the course of this investigation is that the Obama administration knew that Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board was problematic and did interfere in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine. Moreover, this investigation has illustrated the extent to which officials within the Obama administration ignored the glaring warning signs when the vice president’s son joined the board of a company owned by a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch.
The release of the controversial report came weeks before the November 3 presidential election, prompting allegations by Democrats that Sens. Johnson and Grassley are trying to interfere in the race and boost Trump’s chances of winning.
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats who make up the minority in the panels led by Johnson and Grassley released their own information, countering the GOP findings and dismissing them as Russian disinformation.
“Findings show Republican investigation amplifies known Russian attack on U.S. election & allegations that U.S. policy toward Ukraine changed to benefit Burisma are false,” the top Democrats on the Johnson and Grassley-led committees said in a joint statement.
Grassley and Johnson refuted the Democrats’ allegation.
“The minority falsely accused the [GOP] chairmen of engaging in a Russian disinformation campaign and used other tactics to interfere in the investigation,” they wrote in the report.