Newly obtained emails indicate the whistleblower who sparked the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump with accusations of a ‘quid pro quo’ deal involving U.S. military aid for Ukraine was also connected with the Biden family‘s business affairs in the Eastern European country.
According to White House documents recently released by the National Archives, Eric Ciaramella knew of then-Vice President Joe Biden’s efforts to remove Ukrainian Viktor Shokin, who was investigating the Hunter Biden-connected energy firm Burisma.
Ciaramella, who served as a national security analyst and adviser to Biden, responded with surprise in an email to the then-Vice President’s threat to withhold $1 billion in funds for Ukraine unless Shokin was fired. The emails also show that Ciaramella played a key role in discussions within the White House on how to handle Hunter Biden‘s appointment to the Burisma board.
In response to the revelations, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told RealClear Investigations: “It now seems there was material evidence that would have been used at the impeachment trial [to exonerate Trump].” Turley added, “Trump was alleging there was a conflict of interest with the Bidens, and the evidence could have challenged Biden’s account and established his son’s interest in the Shokin firing.”
When then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt emailed a news item to Ciaramella highlighting Biden‘s attempt to extort the firing of Shokin, he replied: “Yikes. I don’t recall this coming up in our meeting with them.”