ICYMI: Senator @tedcruz says that Hunter Biden's testimony "is now critical" following Adam Schiff's opening statement. pic.twitter.com/mZNrs3JJga
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Democratic House managers trying to convince the Senate to remove the president from office made a "strategic error" by insisting Trump had no basis for suspecting the Bidens' dealings in Ukraine were corrupt, contended Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
"The problem is there is very significant prima facie evidence of corruption," he told reporters Thursday night.
Cruz cited House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff's contention in his presentation Thursday that accusations of corruption by the Bidens were a "sham." Another House manager, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, took considerable time Thursday to argue the claims against the Bidens had been debunked.
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But Cruz insisted the Democrats have opened the door to allowing the White House to present what he believes is convincing evidence against the Bidens.
Hunter Biden, with no background in oil and gas, was paid about $1 million a year by a notoriously corrupt Ukrainian firm while his father was the point man for Ukraine policy, Cruz pointed out. And further, he noted, Joe Biden is on video boasting that he threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aide if Ukraine didn't fire the prosecutor who was investigating the company paying his son.
"If the House managers' case is based on the allegations of corruption concerning Hunter Biden and Joe Biden being a 'sham,' then it is directly relevant" to the calling of witnesses and presentation of evidence by the White House, he said.
Cruz also took issue with Nadler asking, with skepticism, why Trump focused on Burisma of all the Ukrainian companies he could have targeted.
"Well, the obvious answer that the House managers ignore is Burisma was the only Ukrainian company that had the son of the vice president that had real prima facie indications of American corruption," he said.
"We're not talking about some abstract interest in any sort of corruption that might exist in Ukraine," Cruz continued.
"But if you have a sitting vice president make public policy decisions to benefit his family to the tune of $1 million a year, that raises serious questions about corruption," he said.
Cruz said a president "not only is justified in asking for that to be investigated but has a responsibility to see that that's investigated."
He emphasized that it was "a question not about Ukrainian corruption but American corruption."
'Nobody in your business has done much looking'
Ahead of the hearing Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., noted to reporters House managers "must have said 50 times" that "the Biden conflict of interest allegations have been debunked and there is no scintilla of evidence in terms of conflict of interest and wrongdoing."
However, directing his remarks to the reporters, he said "nobody, particularly in your business, has done much looking at when happened with Hunter Biden."
Graham pointed out that in 2014, Joe Biden was "given the Ukraine portfolio by Obama."
"It's a notoriously corrupt place," he said of the country.
"Within a month of being given the Ukraine portfolio, the vice president's son is hired by Burisma, one of the most corrupt companies in the Ukraine, at a fairly exorbitant salary," Graham said.
Graham pointed out that after the Burisma president's home was raided, Joe Biden "called the president of Ukraine four times, got on a plane and said if you don't fire this guy you don't get the billion dollars."
"I love Joe Biden, but I can tell you, if the name was Trump, there'd be a lot of questions asked," Graham said.
In November, Graham sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents of Joe Biden's phone calls with former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko in February and March 2016.
Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal attorney, said Thursday he will begin releasing documents related to alleged corruption by the Bidens in Ukraine and around the world.
"Everything I tried to tell the press last March is now coming out, and more," the former New York City mayor wrote on Twitter. "I will now start to reveal the evidence directly to you, the People. The Biden Family Enterprise made millions by selling public office. Then when Joe was Obama’s Point Man, they ALL made millions."
Biden's campaign dispatched last week an extraordinary memo imploring news media to dismiss as "conspiracy theory" the allegations of corruption surrounding his son Hunter's business dealings.
Earlier this week, investigative reporter John Solomon showed that the claims in the Biden campaign memo don't match the facts.