By PBS NewsHour
Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida who is a member of the Trump impeachment legal team, outlined on Jan. 27 the concerns she said the president had about potential corruption on the part of the Bidens in Ukraine. Bondi pointed to numerous news reports raising questions about Hunter Biden’s appointment to the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
The move “looks nepotistic at best, nefarious at worst,” Bondi said, speaking on the Senate floor during the impeachment trial. While some ethics experts have said Hunter Biden’s seat on the Burisma board could raise the appearance of a conflict of interest, independent news reports have found no wrongdoing by Hunter Biden or former vice president Joe Biden.
Democrats argue Trump used the idea of corruption as a cover for efforts to get Ukraine to investigate his political rival. Trump’s defense team is presenting their arguments as part of the Senate impeachment trial.
The trial has entered a pivotal week as his defense team resumes its case and senators face a critical vote on whether to hear witnesses or proceed directly to a vote that is widely expected to end in his acquittal. The articles of impeachment charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House of Representatives impeached the president in December on those two counts.
