Democratic Lawmaker Ridicules Republicans Over Witness Wish List
During an interview with MSNBC broadcast on Saturday, Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan ridiculed GOP lawmakers for compiling a wish list of witnesses they want to testify in the House Democrats’ impeachment probe into President Donald Trump, reports Raw Story.
Among the witnesses Republicans want to question are former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, and the anonymous White House official who kick-started the impeachment process by blowing the whistle on Trump allegedly pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate the Bidens.
Asked by MSNBC host Alex Witt whether any of the witnesses will be approved by the House, Kildee apparently couldn’t help but crack a joke about the GOP’s demands. He jokingly wondered why Republicans are not demanding to see former President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.
“Well, I’ll leave that, obviously, to the committees of jurisdiction, but I would think that calling Hunter Biden or even calling the whistleblower — I mean, I’m surprised they didn’t put in a request for President Obama’s birth certificate.”
The Democrat then explained that Hunter Biden was never under investigation by Ukrainian authorities, as Trump and his Republican allies have alleged, arguing that the GOP is trying to distract the American public from that fact by making witness demands.
According to Kildee, Republicans “don’t want to deal with the facts that surround the president’s behavior.”
“They just don’t want to talk about it. So they’re going to try to talk about something else,” he said.
The Michigan congressman also argued that Republicans are demanding that the whistleblower testifies in order to intimidate the anonymous individual, and to “keep others from coming forward” with damaging information about the president.
He noted that the Whistleblower Protection Act exists because of individuals like the anonymous White House official, whose claims have been corroborated by administration officials who have already testified in the impeachment probe.
According to Kildee, Republicans are trying to “send a chill into the administration” by attacking the whistleblower, and want to make sure that anybody else who wants to share information with the public thinks twice before doing so.
Republicans also requested to hear from top Russia adviser on the National Security Council, Tim Morrison; former U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine, David Hale; and former Democratic National Committee staffer, Alexandra Chalupa.
They reportedly wanted to shift attention away from Trump, and refocus the inquiry on the Democratic Party and the Biden family.
House Democrats, led by Adam Schiff, are pushing back against the GOP’s demands. Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said that the inquiry will remain focused on Trump.
