The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday into the GOP impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden that will include Hunter Biden's former business partners Tony Bobulinski, Jason Galanis, and former Rudy Giuliani aide Lev Parnas.
Parnas, a Ukrainian-American businessman who worked closely with former Trump lawyer Giuliani in 2018 and 2019 to try to find damaging information about Joe Biden, began his opening statement by criticizing former President Donald Trump and his aides for pushing what Parnas said were false claims. Against the Biden family.
“The American people have been lied to by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and a variety of individuals in government and media positions,” Parnas said in his opening statement. “They created lies to serve their own interests knowing that it would undermine the strength of our nation.”
Parnas stressed that there is no evidence of corruption by the Biden family in relation to Ukraine and that baseless accusations are directed against the president It came from the Russian government.
“The only information ever pushed against Biden and Ukraine came from one source and one source only: Russia and Russian agents,” he said, adding that the Biden impeachment proceedings were “based on false information spread by the Kremlin.”
in Written statement to CongressParnas also criticized Trump allies such as former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., as well as some prominent right-wing media figures for spreading misinformation about the Biden family.
“Everyone integral to this shadow diplomacy knew the corruption rumors involving Biden were baseless,” Parnas said. Then-Congressman Devin Nunes, Senator Ron Johnson, and many other individuals realized they were pushing a false narrative. “The same goes for John Solomon, Sean Hannity, and those in the media, especially at Fox News, who used this narrative to manipulate the public before the 2020 election. They are still doing so today, as we approach the 2024 election.”
Parnas previously urged the Republican-led House Oversight Committee to end its investigation into the Biden family, saying in a letter to its chairman, James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, last year that there was no evidence to suggest the president or his son Hunter Biden was involved.
“With all due respect, Chief Comer, the narrative you seek in this investigation has been proven false multiple times, by a wide range of respected sources,” Parnas wrote. “There is simply no point in investigating this matter further.”
Parnas, who cooperated in Trump's first impeachment investigation into his dealings with Ukraine, was convicted of fraud and campaign finance crimes in 2021. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison and ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution for the charges.
Hunter Biden and his former business partner Devon Archer declined to appear at the Oversight Committee's public hearing on Wednesday.
Hunter Biden's attorney, Abe Lowell, denounced the scheduled hearing as a “carnival sideshow” and said his client would only appear if the committee “also schedules a legitimate hearing” involving “relatives of former President Trump,” including his son-in-law. – Law, Jared Kushner.
In a copy of a letter to House Oversight obtained by NBC News, Archer's attorney, Matthew Schwartz, asserted that his client did not have enough time to prepare for the hearing.
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