Former Vice President Joe Biden won’t comply with a subpoena to testify in President Trump’s impeachment trial, he told the Des Moines Register on Friday.
But on Saturday — he softened his position.
Mr. Biden, who leads the 2020 Democratic presidential field in national polling, told the paper’s editorial board his testimony would bring the attention off of Mr. Trump — and that Mr. Biden isn’t accused of any wrongdoing.
Some Republicans have suggested the former vice president could be called to testify about his work with Ukraine during the Obama administration when his son, Hunter Biden, sat on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company which was involved in a corruption probe. The company paid Mr. Biden’s son about $50,000 a month despite his lack of expertise in the industry.
The speculation over who could testify comes after House Democrats voted on a party-line basis to pass articles of impeachment, accusing Mr. Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress earlier this month.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has not yet transmitted the articles to the Senate where the party leaders are negotiating over the rules and procedures for a trial. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to call more witnesses — wanting to hear from Mr. Trump’s chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and his former national security adviser John Bolton among other Trump administration officials.
The Democrats’ impeachment centered on a July phone call Mr. Trump had with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, where he requested a probe into his political rival while withholding aid.
Mr. Biden said even if he testified to clear any confusion about his work with Ukrainian officials during his time as Vice President, the media attention would inevitably let Mr. Trump escape scrutiny.
“What are you going to cover?” Mr. Biden said. “You guys are going to cover for three weeks anything that I said. And (Trump’s) going to get away. You guys buy into it all the time. Not a joke … Think what it’s about. It’s all about what he does all the time, his entire career. Take the focus off. This guy violated the Constitution. He said it in the driveway of the White House. He acknowledged he asked for help.”
On Saturday, Mr. Biden took to Twitter to clarify his comments to the paper.
“I want to clarify something I said yesterday. In my 40 years in public life, I have always complied with a lawful order and in my eight years as VP, my office — unlike Donald Trump and Mike Pence — cooperated with legitimate congressional oversight requests,” Mr. Biden tweeted.
He added, “But I am just not going to pretend that there is any legal basis for Republican subpoenas for my testimony in the impeachment trial. That is the point I was making yesterday and I reiterate: this impeachment is about Trump’s conduct, not mine.”
Mr. Biden had previously brushed off suggestions he may be called to testify while on the campaign trail.
Recent polls in Iowa have showed Mr. Biden slipping behind South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, according to the Real Clear Politics average.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.