Republicans on Saturday submitted an impeachment hearing witness list to Democrats which includes the son of Vice President Joe Biden, along with the intelligence community whistleblower who initially touched off questions about President Donald Trump's efforts to get Ukraine to launch certain investigations to help Mr. Trump's 2020 election bid.
In a five page letter to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) blasted the process involved in the impeachment process, labeling it a 'one-sided and purely political' effort against President Trump.
"Americans see through this sham impeachment process, despite the Democrats' efforts to retroactively legitimize it last week," Nunes wrote, referring to a House vote to approve plans for the impeachment inquiry opposed by GOP lawmakers.
The GOP request named eight specific witnesses:
+ Hunter Biden, son of the former Vice President.
+ Devon Archer, tied to Biden through a Ukraine energy company.
+ Alexandra Chalupa, a former DNC staffer.
+ David Hale, the third-ranking State Department official, who testified behind closed doors on November 6.
+ Tim Morrison, National Security Council official who testified on October 31.
+ Nellie Ohr, a frequent target of the GOP from the Russia investigation.
+ Kurt Volker, former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine, who was the first witness deposed by Congress.
+ The whistleblower who brought the Ukraine issue to officials in the U.S. Intelligence Community.
On his way to the Alabama-LSU college football game on Saturday, President Trump added his own jabs at Democrats, saying he would likely release the transcript of another phone call with the leader of Ukraine next week.
"PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!" the President tweeted, in a familiar complaint about the Russia investigation.
The GOP letter also asks to hear publicly from 'All individuals relied upon by the anonymous whistleblower in drafting his or her secondhand complaint.'
It was not clear how many witnesses would be approved by Democrats; as of now, it's not known how long the hearings will go, or how many public sessions will be conducted.
"We expect that you will call each of the witnesses listed above to ensure that the Democrats' "impeachment inquiry" treats the President with fairness," Nunes wrote.
The immediate reaction from Democrats did not seem positive for the GOP effort to call Hunter Biden and others.
"This inquiry is not, and will not serve, however, as a vehicle to undertake the same sham investigations into the Bidens or 2016 that the President pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit," Schiff wrote in a Saturday afternoon response.
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