GOP chairmen seek interview with Obama officials as part of Biden-Ukraine probe

Three Senate GOP chairmen are requesting interviews with five Obama administration officials as part of their investigation into the Bidens and Ukraine.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — who chair the Judiciary, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Finance committees, respectively — are asking for a response to their request by Dec. 23. 

“These interview requests continue the chairmen’s oversight efforts … related to potential conflicts of interest and political influence by Ukrainian elements, including the natural gas firm Burisma, which employed Hunter Biden as a board member while his father was vice president and the public face of the Obama administration’s handling of Ukraine,” a release from the three senators said.

They’re asking for staff-level interviews with Antony Blinken, the former deputy secretary of State, Catherine Novelli, a former under secretary of State, and Victoria Nuland, the former assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

They also want interviews with Amos Hochstein, the former senior adviser on international energy affairs to Vice President Joe Biden, and David Wade, the former chief of staff to Secretary of State John Kerry.

President Trump and other GOP lawmakers have homed in on Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden as they’ve sought to push back against the House impeachment inquiry, with House Democrats expected to vote to impeach Trump on Wednesday. 

Hunter Biden worked on the board of Burisma, a natural gas company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch, while his father served as vice president. 

Joe Biden pushed in 2016 for the dismissal of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin because of concerns he was overlooking corruption in his own office and threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine if the prosecutor was not fired.

There’s no evidence that Joe Biden was acting with his son’s interests in mind, and the former vice president has denied doing so.

Kurt Volker, the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine, also told House lawmakers earlier this year during his closed-door deposition as part of the impeachment inquiry that Biden “was representing U.S. policy at the time.”

The three GOP senators previously said they want records from and a staff-level interview with Alexandra Chalupa, a former Democratic National Committee contractor. 

They noted on Wednesday that they are in contact about the request.