The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Engel has threatened to cite the documents since May, when Johnson’s investigation began to escalate.
Johnson has indicated that a report on his findings could be released this summer, and his panel is also trying to obtain testimony from top Obama administration diplomatic and national security officials. He has denied that his investigation is like a political club or is being influenced by foreign interests seeking to hurt Biden.
The House of Representatives accused President Donald Trump last year of pressuring Ukraine’s leaders to investigate Biden and other Democrats, and withholding security assistance to the country, in the midst of its war with Russia, to exert pressure.
Trump’s allies responded by leveling discredited accusations that Biden lobbied Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was investigating Burisma, a power company for which his son Hunter served on the council. State Department leaders testified during impeachment proceedings that Biden’s work in Ukraine was conducted in accordance with department policy, and that efforts to remove the prosecutor were part of an international push to eradicate corruption. They also noted that the prosecutor himself was an impediment to investigating Burisma.
More recently, top Democrats have cited intelligence that suggests that at least some of the efforts against Biden are being fueled by Kremlin-aligned Ukrainians seeking to interfere in the 2020 elections.
President Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer have demanded a congressional FBI intelligence briefing on intelligence that they say shows a specific foreign plot to influence congressional action.
After attending a briefing on general election security, Pelosi criticized Friday morning for “withholding” evidence of foreign interference.
