Senate Republicans are planning to release an interim report on their probe into Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma and the role former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden may have played in helping the company evade investigations by sitting on the company’s board, according to a report.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) told reporters on Wednesday he is likely to release that report within one to two months, according to Politico.
“These are questions that Joe Biden has not adequately answered,” Johnson told reporters. “And if I were a Democrat primary voter, I’d want these questions satisfactorily answered before I cast my final vote.”
News of the report comes just as Biden cliched the most number of Democrat delegates on Super Tuesday, when a chunk of states held their presidential primaries that will determine whom the eventual Democrat presidential nominee is.
Johnson reportedly said the timing of his probe had nothing to do with the election calendar.
“My investigations are not focused on the Bidens. They’re just not. But I can’t ignore them because they’re part of the story,” he told Politico. They made themselves part of the story.”
“If there’s wrongdoing, the American people need to know it. If there is no wrongdoing or nothing significant, the American people need to understand that as well,” he said.
Biden and his son came under scrutiny after Democrats charged ahead with the impeachment of Trump for asking Ukraine to investigate the Bidens’ potential role in helping Burisma evade corruption investigations in Ukraine.
Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma while his father was the point person for Ukraine during the Obama administration. The former vice president had called for the firing of the prosecutor-general who was looking into Burisma, but denies any motive to help his son, who was receiving up to $83,000 a month for sitting on the board despite having no relevant energy expertise.
Some State Department officials testified during the impeachment inquiry that there was concern within the Obama administration of the appearance of a conflict of interest, but that they were afraid to raise the matter with Biden.
House Democrats are preparing to accuse Republicans who investigate Burisma and the Bidens of trying to hurt Biden’s presidential run, as well as aiding “a potential Russian disinformation campaign,” according to the report.
“After hearing nothing about Burisma over the course of the last couple weeks, the Republicans will revive it in a perfect demonstration of what this means to them, which is to be a cudgel to beat Joe Biden with,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told the outlet.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), who led the impeachment inquiry, reportedly said he was “concerned” to see there is “renewed interest in furthering these bogus Russian narratives through the use of their investigative powers.”
On Monday, Johnson announced plans to subpoena records from a Democrat public affairs firm that he said potentially tried use Biden’s role at Burisma to influence policy at the State Department.
“I don’t know why any member of my committee would vote against a subpoena that’s just looking for records from a U.S. consulting firm,” Johnson reportedly said.
Johnson’s Democrat counterpart, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), opposes the subpoena and the broader investigation. Johnson is facing a challenge from U.S. Army veteran and combat pilot John James, who could become Michigan’s first black U.S. senator.
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