Johnson, Grassley Call for State Department to Release Documents on Hunter Biden and Burisma

[The Purge]

U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday seeking answers to questions regarding the way a consulting firm hired by Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company, appears to have used Hunter's Biden's role on Burisma's board to possibly influence State Department matters.

Recently obtained State Department emails, made public through a FOIA request, indicate Burisma's consulting firm noted "two high profile U.S. citizens (including Hunter Biden as a board member) affiliated with the company" when requesting a meeting with State Department officials to discuss the validity of the U.S. government's classification that their client, Burisma, was corrupt.

A State Department email from February 2016 said, "Per our conversation, Karen Tramontano of Blue Star Strategies requested a meeting to discuss with [Under Secretary] Novelli [U.S. Government] remarks alleging Burisma (Ukrainian energy company) of corruption. She noted that two high profile U.S. citizens are affiliated with the company (including Hunter Biden as a board member). Tramontano would like to talk with U/S Novelli about getting a better understanding of how the U.S. came to the determination that the company is corrupt. According to Tramontano, there is no evidence of corruption, has been no hearing or process, and evidence to the contrary has not been considered. Would appreciate any background you may be able to provide on this issue and suggested TPs for U/S Novelli's meeting."

On Wednesday, the senators wrote, "Although it is not clear if Under Secretary Novelli met with Karen Tramontano on March 1, 2016, as planned, later that month Tramontano and other members of Burisma's legal team reportedly met with Ukrainian prosecutors. According to what appears to be contemporaneous notes by one of those Ukrainian prosecutors, during that meeting, Burisma's legal team apologized about what they alleged to be `false information' promoted by the U.S. Government about the prosecutors' handling of the investigation of Burisma.

"Additionally, other documents obtained and made public through FOIA show other meetings that Burisma board members Hunter Biden and Devon Archer scheduled with high-ranking State Department officials. In May 2015, Hunter Biden asked to meet then-Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken to `get [his] advice on a couple of things' and again for lunch on July 22, 2015. On March 2, 2016, just one day after Tramontano was scheduled to meet with Under Secretary Novelli about Burisma, Devon Archer was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry."

Full text of the letter can be viewed here.

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The DemonRATS haven’t been afraid of the GOP since Reagan.
Another suggestion from a GOP Senator which will be ignored.

 

[Oddball]

The entire State Department needs to be locked up and a division of US Marshals sent in to seize every record document and in it.

The entire bureaucracy has been acting as a separate and unaccountable fiefdom.

 

[Hutch Starskey]

U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday seeking answers to questions regarding the way a consulting firm hired by Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company, appears to have used Hunter's Biden's role on Burisma's board to possibly influence State Department matters.

Recently obtained State Department emails, made public through a FOIA request, indicate Burisma's consulting firm noted "two high profile U.S. citizens (including Hunter Biden as a board member) affiliated with the company" when requesting a meeting with State Department officials to discuss the validity of the U.S. government's classification that their client, Burisma, was corrupt.

A State Department email from February 2016 said, "Per our conversation, Karen Tramontano of Blue Star Strategies requested a meeting to discuss with [Under Secretary] Novelli [U.S. Government] remarks alleging Burisma (Ukrainian energy company) of corruption. She noted that two high profile U.S. citizens are affiliated with the company (including Hunter Biden as a board member). Tramontano would like to talk with U/S Novelli about getting a better understanding of how the U.S. came to the determination that the company is corrupt. According to Tramontano, there is no evidence of corruption, has been no hearing or process, and evidence to the contrary has not been considered. Would appreciate any background you may be able to provide on this issue and suggested TPs for U/S Novelli's meeting."

On Wednesday, the senators wrote, "Although it is not clear if Under Secretary Novelli met with Karen Tramontano on March 1, 2016, as planned, later that month Tramontano and other members of Burisma's legal team reportedly met with Ukrainian prosecutors. According to what appears to be contemporaneous notes by one of those Ukrainian prosecutors, during that meeting, Burisma's legal team apologized about what they alleged to be `false information' promoted by the U.S. Government about the prosecutors' handling of the investigation of Burisma.

"Additionally, other documents obtained and made public through FOIA show other meetings that Burisma board members Hunter Biden and Devon Archer scheduled with high-ranking State Department officials. In May 2015, Hunter Biden asked to meet then-Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken to `get [his] advice on a couple of things' and again for lunch on July 22, 2015. On March 2, 2016, just one day after Tramontano was scheduled to meet with Under Secretary Novelli about Burisma, Devon Archer was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry."

Full text of the letter can be viewed here.

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The DemonRATS haven’t been afraid of the GOP since Reagan.
Another suggestion from a GOP Senator which will be ignored.

So.....what you're saying is the State Dept has knowledge of matters in Ukraine prior to the Trump admin?
Wow. Who knew? So Trump could have just asked Pompeo what Biden's role was there rather than "asking" the ukrainian president directly?

What a novel idea.

 

[Lesh]

Wasn’t Johnson one of those GOP Senators calling for Shokin to be removed?

yea he was

 

[easyt65]

Aww we Crap....shit is getting REAL.

This is NOT going to go as the treasonous Democrats hoped / planned.

 

[eagle1462010]

If the Senate has any balls............they can give the Dems a taste of their own medicine here.

What are they waiting on.................oh........Barr......

Both sides have establishment hacks there just like Biden.........They didn't get into the millionaires club by accident.

 

[Jitss617]

Investigating Democrats? You can’t do that.

 

[CWayne]

This sounds to me like you, or more importantly, the two Senators, are making a lot of noise about a company dropping names.

While name dropping is passe`, it isn't' illegal. Is there documentation that the State Department moved to provide something to Burisima because of these meetings?

 

[eagle1462010]

This sounds to me like you, or more importantly, the two Senators, are making a lot of noise about a company dropping names.

While name dropping is passe`, it isn't' illegal. Is there documentation that the State Department moved to provide something to Burisima because of these meetings?

Dem follow the rules............lol

Plenty of SMOKE with Biden and Ukraine..........hell if it were Indian smoke signals the SMOKE tells me ............hmmmm.. puff.......pufff puff................BIDEN IS GUILTY AS SIN.

 

[CWayne]

This sounds to me like you, or more importantly, the two Senators, are making a lot of noise about a company dropping names.

While name dropping is passe`, it isn't' illegal. Is there documentation that the State Department moved to provide something to Burisima because of these meetings?

Dem follow the rules............lol

Plenty of SMOKE with Biden and Ukraine..........hell if it were Indian smoke signals the SMOKE tells me ............hmmmm.. puff.......pufff puff................BIDEN IS GUILTY AS SIN.

Plenty of smoke, yes. Name dropping, not illegal, is cause for concern if it grants access where access would otherwise be denied.

Do they, do you, have any proof that is what has happened?

Don't be like the progressives. Ask yourself, if you won't accept it from them, why would you accept it from the GOP?

Be intellectually honest and fair-minded.

 

[eagle1462010]

This sounds to me like you, or more importantly, the two Senators, are making a lot of noise about a company dropping names.

While name dropping is passe`, it isn't' illegal. Is there documentation that the State Department moved to provide something to Burisima because of these meetings?

Dem follow the rules............lol

Plenty of SMOKE with Biden and Ukraine..........hell if it were Indian smoke signals the SMOKE tells me ............hmmmm.. puff.......pufff puff................BIDEN IS GUILTY AS SIN.

Plenty of smoke, yes. Name dropping, not illegal, is cause for concern if it grants access where access would otherwise be denied.

Do they, do you, have any proof that is what has happened?

Don't be like the progressives. Ask yourself, if you won't accept it from them, why would you accept it from the GOP?

Be intellectually honest and fair-minded.

Biden bragging about getting a prosecutor fired in Ukraine is from his own mouth............

Hunter being interviewed about his job and saying .......well yeah it's because of daddy.......

Air Force 2 recordes.......Hunter traveled to Ukraine got rich........Hunter traveled to China and company gets big contract............

Well..........I'd say that warrants further investigation.................wouldn't you.......

 

[CWayne]

This sounds to me like you, or more importantly, the two Senators, are making a lot of noise about a company dropping names.

While name dropping is passe`, it isn't' illegal. Is there documentation that the State Department moved to provide something to Burisima because of these meetings?

Dem follow the rules............lol

Plenty of SMOKE with Biden and Ukraine..........hell if it were Indian smoke signals the SMOKE tells me ............hmmmm.. puff.......pufff puff................BIDEN IS GUILTY AS SIN.

Plenty of smoke, yes. Name dropping, not illegal, is cause for concern if it grants access where access would otherwise be denied.

Do they, do you, have any proof that is what has happened?

Don't be like the progressives. Ask yourself, if you won't accept it from them, why would you accept it from the GOP?

Be intellectually honest and fair-minded.

Biden bragging about getting a prosecutor fired in Ukraine is from his own mouth............

Hunter being interviewed about his job and saying .......well yeah it's because of daddy.......

Air Force 2 recordes.......Hunter traveled to Ukraine got rich........Hunter traveled to China and company gets big contract............

Well..........I'd say that warrants further investigation.................wouldn't you.......

Yes, Quid Pro Joe is guilty as sin.

However, that does NOT translate to Hunter. Hunter Biden, cashing in on his family name, is also NOT a crime.

As for warranting further investigation, of course. But let's not talk about things that we have no proof of happening.

So far, we have a company that dropped Hunter Biden's name to someone in the State Department. Something to be concerned about, to be sure. Is that alone illegal?

It is not.

The question becomes, "What did Burisma do with this situation, but more importantly, what did the State Department do?"

We have no proof they have done anything. So far.

 

[eagle1462010]

However, that does NOT translate to Hunter. Hunter Biden, cashing in on his family name, is also NOT a crime.

And how do you know that..............Was extortion used to get that position........Pay to Play not a crime.........If he's innocent then so be it.............Grand Juries are called for investigation if sufficient evidence is shown to warrant going to court................I think there is sufficient evidence.


The question becomes, "What did Burisma do with this situation, but more importantly, what did the State Department do?"

We have no proof they have done anything. So far.

That is why DOJ uses the process of investigation and a Grand Jury..............if in the end no sufficient evidence is found then it doesn't go to trial..............evidence of crimes must be proved in this process to the Judge. and Grand Jury looking at the information found.

 

[CWayne]

However, that does NOT translate to Hunter. Hunter Biden, cashing in on his family name, is also NOT a crime.

And how do you know that..............Was extortion used to get that position........Pay to Play not a crime.........If he's innocent then so be it.............Grand Juries are called for investigation if sufficient evidence is shown to warrant going to court................I think there is sufficient evidence.


The question becomes, "What did Burisma do with this situation, but more importantly, what did the State Department do?"

We have no proof they have done anything. So far.

That is why DOJ uses the process of investigation and a Grand Jury..............if in the end no sufficient evidence is found then it doesn't go to trial..............evidence of crimes must be proved in this process to the Judge. and Grand Jury looking at the information found.

I have no reason to believe otherwise. He will not be the last person to cash in on the family name. The question isn't what he did to get on the board so much as what did he do for the company AFTER he was on the board.

That is the matter for concern and should be the focus of any investigation into it. So far as any of us know, Hunter Biden hasn't broken any laws.

He gets the same presumption of innocence that Trump gets.

 

[eagle1462010]

However, that does NOT translate to Hunter. Hunter Biden, cashing in on his family name, is also NOT a crime.

And how do you know that..............Was extortion used to get that position........Pay to Play not a crime.........If he's innocent then so be it.............Grand Juries are called for investigation if sufficient evidence is shown to warrant going to court................I think there is sufficient evidence.


The question becomes, "What did Burisma do with this situation, but more importantly, what did the State Department do?"

We have no proof they have done anything. So far.

That is why DOJ uses the process of investigation and a Grand Jury..............if in the end no sufficient evidence is found then it doesn't go to trial..............evidence of crimes must be proved in this process to the Judge. and Grand Jury looking at the information found.

I have no reason to believe otherwise. He will not be the last person to cash in on the family name. The question isn't what he did to get on the board so much as what did he do for the company AFTER he was on the board.

That is the matter for concern and should be the focus of any investigation into it. So far as any of us know, Hunter Biden hasn't broken any laws.

He gets the same presumption of innocence that Trump gets.

That is how it's supposed to be..................but the media and left have tried and convicted Trump for 3 years straight in the BS Political arena...................to the point of needing a barf bag.

Hunter is fair game for investigation.................if he's not guilty of crimes in pay to play then he's not guilty..............Just because so many people in politics do this .........DOESN'T MAKE IT LEGAL..........Just means they have been getting away with it..................

It should be investigated ................as should many members of the Senate and Congress ..........perhaps we'll get a better crop of losers after they are gone.

 

[Lesh]

Johnson was ONE of the GOP Senators who were calling for the ouster of the corrupt prosecutor that Biden helped get removed