Graham opens door to calling Hunter Biden to testify

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) opened the door on Tuesday to calling Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Graham, speaking with Fox News’s Bret Baier, said he would “look at” calling Hunter Biden to testify only if Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, first testified before the panel.

{mosads}”I’ve asked Rudy Giuliani to come before our Senate Judiciary Committee to talk about corruption in the Ukraine, and if he does come and he does tell us, then we’ll look at calling Hunter Biden,” Graham said.

Graham’s doubling down on having Giuliani come before the Senate Judiciary Committee comes after Giuliani told House lawmakers on Tuesday that he won’t comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and communications related to House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Jon Sale, Giuliani’s former attorney, wrote to the House Intelligence Committee that Giuliani would not comply with the subpoena. Sale cited a White House letter stating that it would not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, which it claimed was invalid.

Asked about Giuliani’s decision, Graham brushed it off, saying, “That’s up to Rudy.”

“I think this is a defining moment in the Biden campaign. Joe Biden is truly a friend. … I think he’s a good man. But what Hunter Biden did was wrong at every level,” Graham added during his Fox News interview. “I think what Hunter Biden did does not pass the smell test.”

Giuliani predicted last week to The Hill that Graham, a top ally of Trump’s, would call Joe Biden and Hunter Biden to testify before the panel.

Asked earlier Tuesday by reporters about Giuliani’s comments, Graham demurred.

“I think he [Giuliani] sets the foundation for other witnesses. I’d like to hear from Rudy first,” he said.

Graham had previously indicated that an individual outside Congress should investigate the Bidens and Ukraine. But in a reversal, he announced during the recess that he was inviting Giuliani to testify. 

“Given the House of Representatives’ behavior, it is time for the Senate to inquire about corruption and other improprieties involving Ukraine. Therefore I will offer to Mr. Giuliani the opportunity to come before the Senate Judiciary Committee to inform the Committee of his concerns,” he said in a statement last week.

House Democrats are at the start of an impeachment inquiry centered on Trump asking the Ukrainian government to work with Giuliani to look into the Bidens and allegations that he tried to withhold aid to Ukraine in an effort to get Kiev to launch such a probe.

Trump and his allies have argued that former Vice President Joe Biden used his position to get a top Ukrainian prosecutor fired, though there’s been no evidence that he did so to help Hunter Biden.