According to BuzzFeed News, the office of former President Barack Obama slammed a partisan congressional investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, referring to it as a blatant effort “to give credence to a Russian disinformation campaign.”
The former president’s office told the National Archives and Records Administration in March that a request from two GOP senators for information related to Ukraine was wrong and “improper.” The letter also noted:
“‘It arises out of efforts by some, actively supported by Russia, to shift the blame for Russian interference in the 2016 election to Ukraine,’ said the letter, dated March 13. It pointed to comments made by Fiona Hill, a former senior National Security Council official in the Trump White House, during the impeachment investigation into the president, calling Ukrainian election meddling ‘a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services.'”
Another section of the letter from Obama’s office slammed the Senate investigation of the Bidens as a “politically motivated” attempt to harm the former vice president, who is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
The records, it should be noted, were eventually released with Obama’s permission in an attempt at “countering the misinformation campaign underlying this request,” the letter reads.
Two senators — Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) — chair committees that are looking into Hunter Biden’s possible business connections to a Ukrainian natural gas company. Both senators claim their investigations are in no way an attempt to harm the former VP and benefit Trump, who is trailing Biden in recent polls.
Last week, Grassley and Johnson wrote the State Department asking for additional records to supplement those they initially requested last November.
A spokesperson for Sen. Johnson defended the requests. Austin Altenburg issued a statement which read in part:
“The accusation that our oversight gives ‘credence to a Russian disinformation campaign’ is unfounded. Baseless accusations aside, our legitimate oversight will continue until we get answers for the American people.”
However, neither Grassley or Johnson seemed the least bit interested in “legitimate oversight” when President Trump was accused of extorting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Both senators also voted to acquit Trump on charges of abusing his office and obstructing Congress.
Featured Image Via NBC News
