Former US Vice President and 2020 Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden has claimed that there is no reason for Republicans to call on his son Hunter to testify in an impeachment probe against President Donald Trump.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Biden reiterated that no wrongdoing occurred during his term as US Vice President, saying that “every single, solitary, serious investigator […] looked at this and said there’s absolutely zero basis to the accusation that I acted inappropriately or that my son did”.
“This is all about Trump trying to create a diversion […]. There's not a scintilla of evidence pointing out that anything is wrong”, he added.
Biden went on to describe Trump's personal lawyer, attorney Rudy Giuliani, as a “chump” and rejecting Republicans' inclusion of his son Hunter in their wish list to testify before Congress.
“There is zero rationale for that to happen. Nobody has suggested that anything was done that was inappropriate. This is all a diversion. This is classic Trump. Focus on the problems. We have a president who is one of the most corrupt people to serve in that office”, Biden asserted.
He concluded by saying that he released “21 years of my tax returns in detail” and urging Trump to release “some of yours”.
Republicans Urge Biden's Son to Testify in Trump Impeachment Probe
Biden spoke after Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee requested that Hunter Biden testify in the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump, according to a document made public last Saturday.
As outlined in a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, penned by Republican California Representative Devin Nunes, Hunter Biden and the leadership of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma are on the wish list for witnesses to testify as part of the impeachment probe.
Through this letter, Republican members on the House Intelligence Committee, a minority led by Nunes, have put forward a list of witnesses they believe would absolve Trump of blame.
Earlier, Schiff promised that his committee will hold its first public hearings in the Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry already this Wednesday.
Democrats Launch Impeachment Inquiry Against Trump
The probe was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on 24 September, following a whistleblower complaint claiming that Trump may have abused the power of his office during a 25 July phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The whistleblower accused Trump of pressuring Zelenskyy to investigate potential corrupt activities by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter pertaining to Burisma.
Trump released the transcript of the call, slamming the impeachment inquiry as another political witch hunt by Democrats aimed at reversing the result of the 2016 US presidential election.