Democratic presidential hopeful Tom Steyer said that hearing from Hunter Biden at a Senate impeachment trial would likely be a “sideshow” and that he’d only be open to getting testimony from him if it was relevant to proving whether President Trump is corrupt.
“They should have every single person testifying who can testify about what went on with Mr. Trump,” Mr. Steyer said in an interview with the “Fox News Rundown” podcast published Thursday. “If it’s relevant to showing whether or not Mr. Trump is corrupt, and we all know he is, then … those people should be up testifying under oath in front of the American people.”
Mr. Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, had been asked if Democrats try to call people to testify like former National Security Advisor John Bolton whether Republicans should get to hear from someone like Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden is the son of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, a top contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Mr. Steyer said as far as he can tell, hearing from Hunter Biden “doesn’t bear on the question of whether Mr. Trump was corrupt, whether he was putting himself ahead of the American people, and whether he then obstructed justice.”
“If there is something about Hunter Biden that shows that, then I’m in favor of it,” Mr. Steyer said. “But as far as I can tell, there isn’t, and actually, that that’s a sideshow. That’s an attempt to deflect away attention from what the truth is, which is this is [an] impeachment trial to see whether Mr. Trump himself is corrupt and is trying to change the subject. I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
The Senate is set to convene Thursday for a ceremonial start to the impeachment trial, though the main action won’t begin until next week.
Hunter Biden has been at the center of Mr. Trump’s impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Democrats have accused Mr. Trump of pressuring Ukraine into launching politically beneficial investigations, including into the Bidens and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Mr. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
Hunter Biden held a lucrative seat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father was vice president. His father had bragged in 2018 about threatening to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees from Ukraine if the country’s leaders did not oust a prosecutor who had reportedly been eyeing the company, Burisma Holdings.
Hunter Biden has said he regrets the headaches his position has created for his father’s presidential campaign.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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