Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) told reporters on Wednesday that he wants Trump lawyer
Rudy Giuliani to testify before the panel regarding allegations that
Joe Biden leveraged his position as vice president to secure a lucrative position for his son on the board of a Ukrainian gas company."I’m going to be reaching out to Rudy, writing a letter saying you’re welcome to come to this committee, if you have something you’d like to share about corruption," Graham told reporters. Giuliani would not be compelled to make an appearance, the Senator added.Giuliani's actions have been scrutinized during the impeachment inquiry into President Trump's conduct regarding Ukraine.
Democrats suspect Trump withheld military aid from
Ukraine to pressure the country to investigate corruption allegations against political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma while Joe Biden was handling Ukraine policy as vice president.Giuliani repeatedly travelled to Ukraine in 2019 to meet with contacts and push for an investigation into the Bidens. Those contacts include former head prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko, who Giuliani considered taking on as a client at the same time he was urging Lutsenko to investigate the Bidens, and a KGB-trained pro-Russian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, whose father was a KGB operative and one-time head of Ukrainian intelligence.Graham would like Giuliani to testify to his committee before the
Senate impeachment trial is expected to begin.The House will vote Wednesday on two articles of impeachment against
President Trump, one for abuse of power and another for obstruction of Congress. The articles are expected to pass along party lines, with most Democrats in favor and every
Republican House member opposed.