Andrew Yang Addresses Biden Family’s Role In The Ukrainian Scandal: ‘It Certainly Has A Bad Look To It’
As the Ukrainian scandal grips Washington, Congressional Democrats continue to pursue formal impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump for allegedly bribing Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Meanwhile, Republicans are pointing to the Bidens, suggesting an investigation into Hunter’s time on the board of Ukrainian private gas company Burisma and allegations that his father intervened in Ukraine’s internal affairs to protect his son.
During an interview with CBS News Campaign Reporter Nicole Sganga — available on Twitter — Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was questioned about Biden, Hunter’s role in the scandal, and how Yang would do things differently, should he become president.
The 44-year-old serial entrepreneur said that a direct family member of a current president or vice president sitting on the board of a for-profit company “certainly has a bad look to it.” He suggested Hunter should have waited until his father’s term was over before taking the position and said that was how things would work under his administration.
“I agree with anyone who thinks that at a minimum it looks like it could influence the administration in ways that benefit the family.”
Yang’s answer was a stark contrast to fellow Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. Per Media Research Center, the Massachusetts Senator became visibly flustered when she was asked Wednesday whether her anti-corruption policies would allow the son of a sitting vice president to be a board member at a for-profit foreign company.
“No,” she said before backtracking. “I don’t — I don’t know. I mean, I’d have to go back and look at the details on the plan.”
PETERBOROUGH, NH — The #YangGang has gathered for Andrew Yang’s 19th trip to New Hampshire. The presidential candidate kicks off his 3-day tour of New Hampshire tonight. #nhpolitics #FITN pic.twitter.com/DxCcxl7Ce3
— Nicole Sganga (@NicoleSganga) September 26, 2019
Yang’s signature proposal is a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 per month for every American over the age of 18. He plans to pay for the proposal by taxing big tech companies through a value-added tax — a different approach than Warren and Bernie Sanders, who propose a wealth tax that focuses on Wall Street.
According to Yang, a wealth tax would be difficult to implement.
“First, in many cases it’s hard to come to a proper value of assets. Intellectual property, goodwill, illiquid family businesses, and speculative investments may be tough to find comparables for,” he tweeted.
Yang added that he believes the wealthiest would likely do whatever they could to avoid an annual inventory of their assets, including fleeing the country.
Yang is currently in sixth place in the polls with 3.3 percent support, ahead of Beto O’Rourke and behind Kamala Harris. He will take the DNC debate stage in October and must get 3 percent in two more DNC-approved polls before being able to take the November debate stage.
