Trump right to question Biden dealings with Ukraine, despite Democrat criticism

Donald Trump is facing impeachment calls for pressuring Ukraine for “dirt” on Joe Biden. But why would Ukraine have dirt on Joe Biden?

OPINION

US President Donald Trump is under fire from Democrats and is facing impeachment calls for urging the Ukrainian government to investigate Hunter Biden, the former vice president’s son.

The story behind that story is itself worthy of serious scrutiny.

The proposed investigation involves Hunter Biden’s involvement with a controversial Ukrainian natural gas company while then-vice president Joe Biden was overseeing America’s Ukraine policy.

Critics of the President have accused him of attempting to “extort” Ukrainian officials for “dirt” on Mr Biden, the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to run against Mr Trump next year.

RELATED: ‘I would like you to do us a favour’

RELATED: Read the full Ukraine call transcript

RELATED: Pelosi announces ‘impeachment inquiry’

RELATED: Why Donald Trump won’t be impeached

But why would Ukraine have dirt on Joe Biden? For answers, one must look at Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company which, until earlier this year, employed Hunter Biden.

In April 2014, Hunter Biden agreed to join Burisma’s board of directors, ostensibly to advise on legal issues, The New Yorker reported. He had no known expertise on the natural gas industry, but Burisma was certainly in need of help.

Earlier that month, British officials had frozen the London bank accounts of Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, and soon after, Ukrainian officials opened their own corruption investigation into Burisma, the Kyiv Post in Ukraine reported.

Hunter Biden helped to recruit a legal team for Burisma, including former Obama administration Justice Department official John Buretta and several American consulting firms, The New York Times reported.

The younger Biden was well compensated for his efforts. Records obtained by the Government Accountability Institute show he was paid as much as $US83,333 ($A123,380) per month for his work at Burisma.

Hunter Biden in 2012. Picture: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Hunter Biden claims he had no role in the investigation of the company, and that he never spoke about it with his father — but the facts show a troubling overlap with the Obama administration’s actions in Ukraine.

On April 16, 2014, White House records show that Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s business partner, made a private visit to the White House for a meeting with vice president Biden. Five days later, on April 21, Joe Biden landed in Kiev for a series of high-level meetings with Ukrainian officials.

Soon the United States and the International Monetary Fund would be pumping more than $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) into the Ukrainian economy, as I wrote in the New York Post.

The next day, there was a public announcement that Mr Archer had been asked to join the board of Burisma. Three weeks after that, on May 13, it was officially announced that Hunter Biden would join, too. Like Hunter Biden, Mr Archer had no background or experience in the energy sector.

In March 2016, Ukrainian officials fired Viktor Shokin, the controversial prosecutor general whose office was overseeing the investigation into Burisma, The New York Times reported.

Six months later, the Burisma case was dropped entirely, the Kyiv Post reported.

According to Joe Biden himself, the former vice president played a key role in the prosecutor’s dismissal.

In March 2016, the then-vice president threatened to withhold $US1 billion in US loans if Mr Shokin was not fired, according to Mr Biden, who recounted the exchange in a 2018 speech: “I looked at them and said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a b**ch. He got fired.”

While the propriety of Mr Trump’s call to the Ukrainian president is certainly questionable and worthy of inquiry, the investigation he was hoping for certainly seems warranted on its own merits.

Hunter Biden (right) was employed by Ukrainian gas company Burisma until earlier this year. Picture: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

BIDEN UKRAINE DEALINGS — SEVEN ESSENTIAL FACTS

1. Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma in April 2014, according to RSB bank records. Hunter Biden had little background in energy. Over a 16-month period, Burisma paid $US3.1 million ($A4.6 million) to a bank account associated with Hunter’s business.

2. Joe Biden led the Obama administration’s policy toward Ukraine when he served as vice president. Mr Biden helped shape Ukraine’s energy and anti-corruption policies, issues that directly impact Burisma.

3. Burisma sought to capitalise Hunter Biden’s name and relationships. According to The New York Times, Hunter Biden helped assemble the company’s legal team, which consisted of American lawyers and consulting firms, including a former Obama Justice Department official.

4. Burisma is led by an oligarch named Mykola Zlochevsky. Mr Zlochevsky served as ecology minister under pro-Russia former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich, leading to allegations that he used his office to benefit Burisma.

5. Burisma was under legal scrutiny. Shortly before Hunter Biden was appointed to Burisma’s board, British authorities froze $US23 million ($A34 million) of Mr Zlochevsky’s assets as part of a corruption investigation. Ukraine opened its own probe later that year.

6. Financial records from Morgan Stanley show numerous lines of money going into the account of “Robert H. Biden.” The funds originated from oligarchs and anonymous LLCs in Ukraine, China, Kazakhstan and elsewhere.

7. In 2013, then-vice president Biden and his son Hunter flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Ten days later, Hunter Biden’s firm scored a $US1.5 billion ($A2.2 billion) deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China.

Peter Schweizer is the president of the Government Accountability Institute and the author of several books including Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends and Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission