The Washington Post reported that Kent’s testimony is the first example of a career diplomat who ... [+]
Topline: A career diplomat revealed he raised concerns in 2015 about Hunter Biden serving on the board of a Ukrainian company while his father, then-vice president Joe Biden, worked on reducing corruption in the country, reported the Washington Post.
- George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, testified in a closed-door Tuesday hearing before Congress that he shared his concerns with a Biden staffer, whose identity remains unknown.
- Kent reportedly was told Biden didn’t have the “bandwidth” to deal with it, because his other son, Beau Biden, was battling cancer at the time.
- The Washington Post reported that Kent’s testimony is the first example of a career diplomat who flagged Hunter Biden’s Ukraine work within the Obama administration.
- Also at the time: Ukrainian activists raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest and Hunter Biden’s work, which the Obama White House denied and said that no issues existed.
What to watch for: How the Ukraine saga might affect Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. He claims he’s never spoken to his son about Ukraine. Hunter Biden said he showed “poor judgment” by accepting the board position in an October 15 interview with ABC News. During the last Democratic presidential debate—also October 15—no candidate criticized Joe Biden over Ukraine, which could mean it’s not a concern on the campaign trail.
Key background: In 2014, Hunter Biden took a seat on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company. At the time, Joe Biden was tasked with reducing corruption in Ukraine as part of his role as vice president. And in 2016, Joe Biden (with the support of other world leaders) threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid if Ukraine did not fire its top prosecutor, who was seen as soft on corruption. The prosecutor was fired, and Trump (and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani) has repeatedly claimed that Biden ordered it to protect his son. But no evidence of wrongdoing in Ukraine by the Bidens exists.
News peg: President Trump reportedly asked Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens, according to records of a July 25 phone call between the two leaders. Even as the records formed the basis of an impeachment inquiry by House Democrats, more bombshells related to Ukraine kept dropping. Possible evidence of a “quid pro quo” between the U.S. and Ukraine emerged October 4 in text message records, which Trump repeatedly denied. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney set off a firestorm when he appeared to acknowledge a quid pro quo during a Thursday press conference (which he attempted to walk back hours later.)
