President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that the president wants Attorney General William Barr to consider investigating Joe Biden about his son’s work in Ukraine.
In an interview with the Guardian, Giuliani said that Barr should ultimately make the decision as to whether Biden is investigated.
“I believe the president has the same view that I have — that the attorney general should make this call,” Giuliani said, asserting that Barr has complete autonomy in the decision
“I can’t tell Attorney General Barr what to do. He’s a very, very fine lawyer,” Giuliani said. “My experience with him is that he’s a very honorable man, and he will do the right thing.”
Giuliani has previously called for Biden to be investigated and had planned to travel to Ukraine to advocate that the incoming government investigate Biden’s actions while serving as vice president.
In 2016, Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees if Ukraine did not dismiss Viktor Shokin, the country’s prosecutor general. Shokin, who was accused of corruption, was later voted out of office by the Ukrainian Parliament. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company at the time and stood to gain from Shokin being removed because his company was being targeted by Shokin.
Giuliani said he hoped that the issue would be looked into sooner rather than later, noting that the controversy could cause issues with the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
“My experience says you must investigate it now so you don’t run into it four months before the election like they did with Hillary,” he said.
Since joining the race, Biden has surged in the polls and is the clear leader in the crowded Democratic field of more than 20 candidates. A RealClearPolitics national average of polls shows him with 41.4% support.
[Also read: Joe Biden’s son under scrutiny for helping China spy on Muslims]
