Two key witnesses in probe Ron Johnson (R-WI) after allegations of corruption involving presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter appear unlikely to appear before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the 2020 presidential election, even if undermined , according to an individual familiar with the matter and another individual with knowledge of the sin.
Johnson, the chairman of the House committee, leads two separate but related investigations, one into the origins of Robert Mueller’s previous special advisory inquiry into Russia and one into Joe Biden’s previous actions in Ukraine and Hunter Biden’s financial relationship with Burisma. a gas company in the country. Johnson told The Hill he plans to publish a report on the Biden probe in the coming weeks, possibly mid-September.
Staff working on that investigation have interviewed a number of witnesses, including David Wade, the former chief of staff of Secretary of State John Kerry, and Liz Zentos, a foreign service officer working at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. Zentos previously served as director of Eastern Europe for the National Security Council, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Johnson is expected to move to issue state points to two other witnesses, former Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Amos Hochstein, a former energy adviser to then-Vice President Biden. Per committee rule, Johnson would have to officially inform Democrats of his intention to issue the statements. The rank-and-file, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), would have 72 hours to come off, which would delay a commission vote. One individual familiar with the matter said Republicans in the committee, pending Peters’ rejection, have been locked in for the past few weeks to secure the vote of sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If the speeches are issued, people familiar with the Hochstein and Blinken case say they are unlikely to appear for questioning before the November election, especially given recent recognition by Democrats and by senior officials in the Trump administration that the probe includes material from a known disinformation peddler. Those individuals pointed to a recent statement from the office of the director of national intelligence that highlighted Russian efforts to get interested in the 2020 presidential election, specifically to “undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Biden. ” The statement pointed to Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker with close ties to Russia who had previously met with personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump.
“Pro-Russia Ukrainian MP Andriy Derkach is spreading allegations of corruption – including by disclosing leaked phone calls – to undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Biden and the Democratic Party,” the statement said. “Some Kremlin-linked actors are also trying to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television.”
For weeks, Democrats have accused Johnson and sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who led his own probe in the FBI investigation into Russia’s mediation in the 2016 election, from relying on information compiled by Derkach to inform the probe. Johnson has consistently denied the allegations.
On Friday, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) published an op-ed in The Washington Post, claims that the Trump administration “keeps the truth about a grave, imminent threat to democracy hidden from the American people.” Blumenthal specifically referred to his presence at classified briefings on attempts by foreign countries, including Russia, to intervene in the 2020 presidential election. “The facts are cool,” he said, pointing to Johnson’s probe into the Bidens as a ” forum for debunked conspiracy theories peddled by Kremlin proxies. “
On Monday, Johnson released an 11-page letter explaining the two probes and defending the Bidens investigation. Johnson called out Blumenthal for his Peal op-ed, saying that the Connecticut senator’s allegations about him receiving material from Derkach are unfounded.
“It’s not me, President Grassley, nor our commissions that are being used to spread Russian disinformation,” Johnson wrote. “Instead, it is the Democrats and the media that Russian President Vladimir Putin has done for him.”
Johnson and Grassley said in a letter last week that they had received information from Andrii Telizhenko, a former Ukrainian diplomat who worked closely with Giuliani. Telizhenko was previously involved in the release of recordings and transcripts of Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Telizhenko told the Peal in July, there would be additional interview leaks this summer.
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