Democrats accuse Republicans of falling for ‘Russian propaganda’ in Biden probe

‘The problem is that we’re six months behind on the work that we’re supposed to be doing, because they decided that they wanted to see what was in Hunter’s pants or they decided that they wanted to somehow propagate Russian propaganda’

Democratic members of the House Oversight & Accountability Committee accused Republicans of falling for Russian propaganda after Hunter Biden testified behind closed doors on Wednesday.

Their words came after President Joe Biden’s son Hunter testified behind closed doors on Wednesday and insisted that “I did not involve my father in my business” and that House Republicans “built your entire partisan house of cards on lies” when it came to opening an impeachment inquiry into the president.

Republicans have sought to tie the younger Biden to his father and say that Hunter involved his father in his business dealings. But Democrats said that the testimony from the testimony from the younger Biden showed how faulty the GOP investigation is.

“I think that the American people deserve better,” Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas told The Independent. “They know that they deserve better. They're going to get better this November when the House flips because it is going to flip. This has been a monstrous waste of tax dollars.”

Ms Crockett said that Republicans focused on an impeachment inquiry of the president instead of working to keep the US government open. She also alluded to Republican members of the Oversight Committee such as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia displaying photos of Hunter Biden naked in hearings.

“The problem is that we're six months behind on the work that we're supposed to be doing, because they decided that they wanted to see what was in Hunter's pants or they decided that they wanted to somehow propagate Russian propaganda,” Ms Crockett said.

Jasmine Crockett said investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden represented a ‘monstrous waste of tax dollars’ (Getty Images)

The testimony comes after Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, was arrested and accused of making false statements about President Biden and Hunter Biden. Mr Smirnov claimed to have connections with Russian intelligence and was charged with bribery after he allegedly told the FBI that executives from Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Joe and Hunter Biden $5m each.

Republicans such as House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan dismissed the arrest of Mr Smirnov and said it was a double standard compared to Christopher Steele, who compiled the Steele Dossier about Donald Trump.

“Maybe the guy did lie,” Mr Jordan said last week during the Conservative Political Action Conference just outside of Washington, DC. “But there sure is quite a contrast for, Christopher Steele can give false information about President Trump, and he continues to get paid. This guy, this Mr Smirnov, can give false information, what they’ve said is false information, and he gets arrested. Double standard again.”

But Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the number-two Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told The Independent that the Republicans’ impeachment inquiry stood on shaky ground.

Hunter Biden arrives on Capitol Hill for his behind-closed-doors testimony (EPA)

“Listen, Republicans set up a whole investigation based on a flimsy account that was connected to Russian intelligence, and once that was exposed, their entire case has fallen apart,” she said. “And now they're trying to scramble to grasping for straws and, you know, they're taking it out on the president's son.”

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said that Mr Smirnov’s charges showed how gullible Republicans are and said that not only was Mr Smirnov indicted, but other sources were compromised as well.

“The Republican party has decided to proceed with an investigation that is largely based on accounts and individuals connected to Russian intelligence,” she said. “It's an abuse of power, period. And frankly, it's extremely disturbing because it begs the question, who these folks are actually working for.”

Hunter Biden’s testimony came after he unexpectedly appeared in front of the House Oversight Committee when it planned to hold him in contempt of Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez highlighted the Russian connections in the Republicans’ investigation (Getty Images)

Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said the fact Republicans wanted Hunter Biden to testify behind closed doors showed they wanted to take him out of context.

“They wanted it behind closed doors so they could leak out selective bits of information to distort what he was saying,” he told The Independent, saying Republicans did the same with other witnesses.

“I think that Hunter Biden, who has made some terrible mistakes in his life, anchored in his addiction, here, is speaking with absolute clarity and lucidity. His father had nothing to do with his business ventures and was not financially profiting from them and did nothing to render official favors or benefits to his businesses.”

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted in December solely on party lines to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. But so far they have not produced the evidence they desired in the investigation.