House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer of Kentucky sent a letter Tuesday to Amos Hochstein, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Adviser for Energy and Investment, requesting he sit down for a transcribed interview.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the letter to Hochstein, requesting he sit down for a transcribed interview with the committees regarding his previous work with Blue Star Strategies, an international lobbying firm recommended by Hunter Biden to the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Blue Star failed to disclose around $480,000 in payments from the firm, Blue Star’s FARA registration and testimony from IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler indicate.
In the letter, the lawmakers say they want to hear more about his work with Blue Star and the Biden family and prior conversations with Hunter Biden and then-Vice President Biden about Hunter’s service on the board of Burisma.
“We believe that you possess relevant information that will both meaningfully advance the impeachment inquiry and assist the Committees in crafting potential legislation, including legislative reforms to FARA,” the letter reads.
The letter also mentions that around the same time Blue Star and Burisma connected in October 2015, Hochstein was serving as Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the State Department. In that role, he reportedly brought concerns to then-Vice President Biden about “potential conflicts of interest” arising from Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Burisma.
In a 2020 interview with Senate investigators, Hochstein “declined” to comment on advice of counsel about “the substance” of his conversation with then-Vice President Biden. (RELATED: Burisma Lobbyists Recommended By Hunter Biden Didn’t Disclose Over $400,000 In Payments, Testimony Shows)
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“As detailed in the September 27 memorandum, the Committees have developed a significant body of evidence consisting of financial records and testimony to suggest then-Vice President Biden’s family used his position as Vice President to produce a positive outcome for Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company then implicated in a years-long corruption investigation conducted by Ukrainian authorities,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Vice President’s son, Hunter Biden, served on Burisma’s Board of Directors from April 2014 until April 2019. The evidence indicates that then-Vice President Biden took official action—at the urging of his son —that had the effect of benefitting Burisma.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Threaten To Subpoena Jack Smith)
Comer and Jordan are leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden along with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith. House Republicans voted Dec. 13 to formalize the impeachment inquiry. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Jim Jordan Issues Second Subpoena To FBI Agent Who Fled The Country After Interview Fell Through)
Hunter Biden is set to testify Feb. 28. It will be a closed-door deposition.
The Caller contacted Hochstein about the letter to which he did not immediately respond.