The ongoing investigation into the impeachment of President Trump focuses on Biden’s involvement in removing a Ukrainian prosecutor.
The investigation into President Biden’s impeachment will center on his attempt to remove Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin and whether he did so to hinder a corruption investigation into a natural gas company that paid Hunter Biden a significant salary.
Hunter Biden and then-business partner Devon Archer were each pocketing a $1 million annual salary from Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings beginning in the spring of 2014. Their hiring coincided with then-Vice President Biden’s new role as the Obama administration’s point person on Ukraine.
Both Archer and Hunter Biden were appointed to the Burisma board shortly after Mr. Biden’s initial visit to Kyiv to oversee the administration’s diplomatic endeavors.
Archer testified to House investigators that both he and Hunter Biden were involved in assisting Burisma in expanding its business operations. One aspect of their role was to create a safeguard against an ongoing corruption investigation that targeted the company. Burisma sought the support of influential individuals in Washington, particularly Hunter Biden’s father, who was the vice president at the time.
The sequence of events involving Mr. Biden, the Obama administration, and Hunter Biden raises concerns about whether Mr. Biden’s intention was to remove Mr. Shokin in order to assist his son and Burisma.
The firing of Shokin is now a central part of an impeachment inquiry into whether Mr. Biden used the power of the vice presidency to help his son and associates secure lucrative deals, including with Burisma, which ultimately paid Hunter Biden and his associates $6.5 million, according to House investigators.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday. The Oversight and Accountability Committee, which will lead the inquiry, plans to hold the first hearing later this month to outline the evidence gathered so far, including Hunter Biden’s possible involvement in Mr. Shokin’s firing.
The committee is requesting records from the Obama administration, including presidential and state department records, in order to investigate any involvement Hunter Biden may have had in the removal of Mr. Shokin.
In the midst of political unrest in Ukraine and global calls for the elimination of rampant corruption, Mr. Shokin was appointed in February 2015.
Publicly, Mr. Biden had nothing negative to say about Mr. Shokin until the then-vice president met privately with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Dec. 7, 2015.
During the meeting, Mr. Biden issued a threat to Mr. Poroshenko.
Mr. Biden later explained that Mr. Shokin had to leave, otherwise Kyiv would not receive $1 billion in loan guarantees from the United States, which Ukraine urgently required.
According to records, prior to Mr. Biden’s visit, Mr. Shokin was praised by the Obama State Department and was not specifically mentioned in phone conversations between the vice president, State Department officials, and Ukraine.
In June 2015, a note was personally delivered to Mr. Shokin by officials. The note was written by Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland on behalf of Secretary of State John Kerry. In the note, she expressed admiration for the government’s ambitious reform and anti-corruption agenda.
In November 2015, the U.S. Interagency Policy Committee informed the Obama administration that Mr. Shokin had implemented sufficient measures to eliminate corruption, making Ukraine eligible for the $1 billion in loan guarantees.
In November, the vice president had a phone conversation with Mr. Poroshenko. According to a summary of the call, he restated the United States’ readiness to offer a third loan guarantee of $1 billion. However, this guarantee is dependent on the progress made in investigating and prosecuting corruption, along with other requirements.
In a matter of weeks, Mr. Biden issued a threat to withhold $1 billion unless Mr. Poroshenko dismissed him.
The meeting’s summary does not mention the dismissal of Mr. Shokin, but Mr. Biden recalled his ultimatum during a 2018 forum at the Council on Foreign Relations. He stated, “If the prosecutor is not removed, you will not receive the funds,” conveying his message to Mr. Poroshenko.
Mr. Biden didn’t mention a call he received three days before the Poroshenko meeting that was exposed by Archer, his former business partner who is facing prison time on an unrelated securities fraud conviction.
During a private testimony to House investigators in July, Archer stated that on December 4, 2015, executives from Burisma urged Hunter Biden to contact someone in Washington D.C. for assistance in alleviating the mounting pressure from Mr. Shokin’s corruption investigation.
Archer stated that he was unaware of the phone call, but the person in question contacted their father.
Archer, Hunter Biden, and the Burisma executives were present at a company board meeting in Dubai when the call was placed.
Archer stated that Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, and Vadym Pozharsky, the Chief Financial Officer of Burisma, were with Hunter Biden when he made a call to “D.C” from Dubai.
Mr. Biden was already familiar with Mr. Pozharsky. He had attended an April 16, 2015, dinner at Washington’s Cafe Milano with several of Hunter Biden’s business associates. Mr. Pozharsky had a seat at the table.
There is no direct evidence Mr. Biden acted to oust Mr. Shokin on behalf of Hunter Biden and Burisma. Democrats have denounced the GOP investigation of the president as a politically motivated exercise that, a White House spokesman said, has so far turned up “zero evidence.”
Before he was dismissed, Mr. Shokin had faced international criticism for not sufficiently pursuing corruption investigations and for his refusal to prosecute individuals from the previous administration who had used force against protesters.
“I cannot reword”
However, Mr. Shokin was also commended during his tenure. Alongside the positive letter from Ms. Nuland, the European Commission lauded Ukraine and Mr. Shokin for implementing anti-corruption measures in a memo dated December 18, 2015, describing the actions as a significant advancement.
When the memo was issued by the European Commission, Mr. Biden had already exerted pressure on Mr. Poroshenko to dismiss Mr. Shokin.
Mr. Shokin continued to hold his position for a few additional months, and throughout that period, he intensified his investigation into the corruption involving Burisma.
On February 2nd, 2016, he took possession of several assets belonging to Mr. Zlochevsky, which included four spacious residences and a luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom.
On the very same day, investigators from Congress observed that Hunter Biden started to follow Antony Blinken, who was the Deputy Secretary of State at that time, on Twitter.
After two weeks of Mr. Shokin confiscating Mr. Zlochevsky’s possessions, Mr. Poroshenko released a statement urging Mr. Shokin to resign “in order to regain the public’s confidence in the government.”
According to a leaked transcript, Mr. Poroshenko informed Mr. Biden on February 18, 2016, that he had fulfilled his part of the agreement during their phone conversation two days later.
Mr. Poroshenko told the vice president he met with Mr. Shokin and asked him to resign “despite the fact that we didn’t have any corruption charges, we don’t have any information about him doing something wrong … and despite the fact that he has support in the public.”
During the conversation, Mr. Biden made a commitment to offer the $1 billion once a new prosecutor, who met his criteria, was appointed.
On March 29, 2016, Mr. Shokin was compelled to leave his position officially.
