GOP could investigate Hunter Biden and reveal DC’s influence-peddling cottage industry
The most-dubbed president’s son has been tapped as a US ambassador to the European Union, but he is also seen by the Ukraine authorities as someone who could help their country’s fight against an increasingly aggressive Russia. Hunter Biden, on the other hand, is facing an investigation into his past business dealings.
A whistleblower has alleged that Hunter Biden worked for a Ukrainian energy company when he was a US senator. The Ukrainian company is accused of illegally funnelling $500m of public funds to cover Biden’s business dealings as his then-boss, Joe Biden, was the US vice-president. The allegations, brought to Congress, have prompted allegations of “impeachable offenses” that would, in the words of the US justice department, “substantially impede the President”.
Democrats want the president to open an inquiry to look into the matter. Republican leadership are holding off, because Trump has shown a willingness to release an unflattering US report on Ukraine’s president, Joe Biden, that is likely to backfire.
What they are up against is the Biden family, who have been at the heart of a campaign of foreign influence peddling and influence buying that has flourished in the current Democratic administration. Some say that the US president has become the king of influence peddling, using his office to influence world leaders on everything from the fight against climate change to gun control.
One of President Trump’s biggest critics, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, has called for a full investigation into the influence-peddling of the Trump family. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cuomo said that the Republican leadership has been playing a “dirty game”, by dragging out the investigation into the alleged wrongdoing in Ukraine. “The whole process needs to be re-examined, we need to bring in a real investigation,�