A U.S. diplomat told congressional investigators this week that he raised concerns about Hunter Biden’s position with a Ukrainian energy company in 2015, only to be turned away by an aide to then-Vice President Joe Biden, a person familiar with the testimony said Friday.
Perception of a conflict
The U.S. diplomat, George Kent, who was the State Department’s deputy chief of mission in Ukraine, told congressional investigators Tuesday that he became aware of Hunter Biden’s Burisma board seat in early 2015 and spoke to a Biden staffer about it.
At the time, Joe Biden’s other son, Beau, was dying from cancer.
“Kent testified that he raised this issue — the perception of a conflict of interest — that was problematic,” the source said. “What he was told by the Biden official was that Beau’s dying of cancer and they didn’t have any further bandwidth to deal with family issues.”
Hunter Biden’s role in Burisma coincided with a U.S. anti-corruption drive in Ukraine that emphasized the importance of avoiding conflicts of interest, the source said.
Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, without providing evidence, have accused the Bidens of corruption.