WASHINGTON – Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are seeking records from and transcribed staff interviews with five former Obama administration officials:
Antony Blinken
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
Amos Hochstein
Former senior advisor on international energy affairs to Vice President Joe Biden
Catherine Novelli
Former Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
Victoria Nuland
Former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
David Wade
Former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State John Kerry
These interview requests continue the chairmen’s oversight efforts (see here, here, here, and here) related to potential conflicts of interest and political influence by Ukrainian elements, including the natural gas firm Burisma, which employed Hunter Biden as a board member while his father was vice president and the public face of the Obama administration’s handling of Ukraine. Additional records and interviews related to these matters may also be necessary. The chairmen have requested these individuals to respond by no later than December 23, 2019.
On December 6, 2019, Johnson, Grassley, and Graham requested records and transcribed interviews with Andrii Telizhenko and Alexandra Chalupa, two individuals reportedly involved in an effort by Ukrainian embassy officials to undermine the Trump campaign in the 2016 election (see here). Both individuals have since been in contact with the committees and discussions are ongoing regarding document productions and scheduling interviews.
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