Senate Democrats submit FOIA request for Ukraine, Biden info
A group of Senate Democrats is using a public records law to try to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hand over information on Ukraine or any attempt by the White House to investigate President Trump’s potential political rivals.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who is running for the party’s presidential nomination, and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) submitted the Freedom of Information Act request to Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday.
{mosads}Their request for documents comes as the House is holding an impeachment inquiry centered on a whistleblower complaint about Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Barr, according to the whistleblower complaint, “appears to be involved” in that effort.
“These factual revelations raise serious concerns about the Justice Department’s involvement in politically-motivated investigations, at the behest of the White House and Rudy Giuliani,” the three senators wrote in the letter to Barr.
“Therefore, we submit a request for records seeking information about the White House’s attempts to interfere with federal law enforcement to pursue politically beneficial outcomes,” they continued.
Democrats are requesting any communications with Barr or Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen that contain one of more than 70 phrases including “quid pro quo,” “Rudy” and “Burisma.” Hunter Biden previously served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian company.
They also requested any documents to or from the top DOJ officials related to interactions between the department and China or Ukraine and potential investigations into Trump’s 2020 opponents.
And the senators are specifically requesting any documents created or modified since mid-February “pertaining to any requests from the White House, whether directly or indirectly, to investigate companies associated with Hunter Biden.”
Trump has repeatedly called for an investigation into the Bidens and Ukraine. The president and some of his allies have seized on the former vice president’s efforts to fire a Ukrainian prosecutor, though there’s been no indication that Biden did so with his son’s interest in mind.
Speaking publicly from the White House earlier this month, Trump also floated that both China and Ukraine should investigate the Bidens.
The three senators, who are all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said they were submitting their request for documents under the public records law because of the “administration’s refusal to cooperate with multiple congressional requests.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
