As Impeachment Wraps, Republicans Want To Hear From The Whistleblower

This week marks the end of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate but Republicans are already thinking about their next steps. Frequently casting the impeachment as a politically motivated action by congressional Democrats, Republicans are now eager to flip the script and open their own investigations.

This weekend Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., appeared on Fox News, where he said that Republicans are already drawing up post-impeachment trial plans. “I want to know how all this crap started,” Graham said. He explained that Republicans intend to summon the whistleblower for a statement before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“If the whistleblower is a former employee of, associate of, Joe Biden, I think that would be important. If the whistleblower was working with people on Schiff’s staff that wanted to take Trump down a year and a half ago, I think that would be important. If the Schiff staff people helped write the complaint, that would be important. We’re going to get to the bottom of all of this to make sure this never happens again,” Graham said.

That’s not all Graham wants to know, though.

The Foreign Relations Committee will be tasked with examining former Vice President Joe Biden’s “obvious conflict of interest” with Ukraine, Graham said. Biden “let his son sit on the board of the most corrupt company in the Ukraine and we’re not gonna give him a pass on that,” he added.

Graham is referring to allegations made by Republicans that Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, served as board member of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma as a result of Biden’s position as vice president. These charges are the same that President Trump allegedly sought to have the Ukrainian government investigate in exchange for the release of military funds – an exchange which ultimately sparked the impeachment process.

Biden has repeatedly denied that there was anything untoward about his or his son’s dealings in Ukraine. Most recently, he appeared agitated after being questioned about Ukraine while appearing for an interview on NBC Monday morning, accusing the host of “saying things you do not know what you are talking about.”

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, recently suggested that if Biden were to become the next president, his relationship with Ukraine could warrant an impeachment investigation of its own.

Republicans have vehemently denied any wrongdoing on Trump’s part during his dealings with Ukraine, arguing that the process has been politically motivated – soon, it will be their chance to find out if these claims hold any water.