Q. It is not an accurate statement of what the President was asking Ukraine to sum it up as saying that President Trump was asking Ukraine to manufacture dirt?
A. Yeah, I agree with that.[1]
2. There are legitimate concerns surrounding Hunter Biden's position on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma during his father's term as Vice President of the United States.
Burisma Holdings had a reputation in Ukraine as a corrupt company.[2] The company was founded by Mykola Zlochevsky, who served as Ukraine's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources from 2010 to 2012.[3] During Zlochevsky's tenure in the Ukrainian government, Burisma received oil exploration licenses without public auctions.[4]
According to the New York Times, Hunter Biden and two other well-connected Democrats—Christopher Heinz, then-Secretary of State John Kerry's stepson, and Devon Archer—"were part of a broad effort by Burisma to bring in well-connected Democrats during a period when the company was facing investigations backed not just by domestic Ukrainian forces but by officials in the Obama administration."[5] Hunter Biden joined Burisma's board when his father, Vice President Joe Biden, acted as the Obama Administration's point person on Ukraine.[6]
The appearance of a conflict of interest raised concerns during the Obama Administration. In May 2014, the Washington Post reported "[t]he appointment of the vice president's son to a Ukrainian oil board looks nepotistic at best, nefarious at worst. No matter how qualified Biden is, it ties into the idea that U.S. foreign policy is self-interested, and that's a narrative Vladimir Putin has pushed during Ukraine's crisis." [7] The Post likened Hunter Biden's position with Burisma to "children of Russian politicians" who take "executive positions in companies at the top of the Forbes 500 list, and China's 'princelings' [who] have a similar habit."[8]
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent testified that while he served as acting Deputy Chief of Mission in Kyiv in early 2015, he raised concerns directly to Vice President Biden's office about Hunter Biden's service on Burisma's board.[9] Kent said that the "message"
- ↑ Volker transcribed interview, supra note 60, at 212-213.
- ↑ Kent deposition, supra note 65, at 83.
- ↑ Paul Sonne & Laura Mills, Ukrainians see conflict in Biden's anticorruption message, Wall St. J., Dec. 7, 2015.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Kenneth P. Vogel & Iuliia Mendel, Biden faces conflicts of interest questions that are being promoted by Trump and allies, N.Y. Times, May 1, 2019.
- ↑ Adam Taylor, Hunter Biden's new job at a Ukrainian gas company is a problem for U.S. soft power, Wash. Post, May 14, 2014.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Kent deposition, supra note 65, at 226-27.
80
